TNN
New Delhi, Feb 25: The Supreme Court asked the Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday to tell it by Thursday at whose instance police entered the Madras high court premises and used force against the striking lawyers.
"We want to know at whose instance the police was allowed to enter the premises of the high court," a bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan said.
The apex court said that the police station inside the high court premises should be shifted immediately; the state government agreed to do so.
At the same time, the Supreme Court berated the lawyers for going on strike and indulging in slogan-shouting even inside courtrooms.
The apex court termed the February 19 incident as "sad" and said it will pass a formal order relating to holding of judicial inquiry tomorrow, PTI reported.
The court said the committee to inquire into the incident will be reconstituted tomorrow after consultation between the members of the bar and the state government.
The advocate body from Chennai had objected to the setting up of the committee by the Tamil Nadu government.
The court ruled out setting up of a judicial inquiry under a sitting judge.
The Supreme Court asked the state government to assess the damage to the lawyers' cars and the high court building as well as announce compensation for the injured lawyers by Thursday. The hearing will continue on Thursday.
On February 19, striking lawyers and lathi-wielding police fought pitched battles in the court’s premises. The trouble started when the police who were in full strength anticipating trouble began arresting some 13 lawyers in connection with the attack on Janata Party chief Subramanian Swamy in the court on February 17. This sparked off a protest by advocates.
Defiant lawyers on Tuesday boycotted talks with the state government. Tamil Nadu’s law minister had called for two rounds of meeting with the striking lawyers with the DGP, and the public prosecutor representing the government.
Meanwhile, the bitter bipolar Tamil Nadu politics made a formal entry into the violent lawyers’ agitation on Tuesday as Jayalalithaa's AIADMK moved the Supreme Court seeking dismissal of the DMK-led coalition government accusing it of authorising the brutal police action against advocates leading to chaos and complete breakdown of the constitutional machinery.
AIADMK said that the unauthorised and excessive force used by the police to quell the peaceful protest by lawyers has led to a tense situation in the entire state and closure of the courts bringing the administration of justice to a grinding halt.
Apart from attempting to score brownie points in the apex court against an already beleagured chief minister Karunanidhi, who had threatened to go on fast protesting against the incidents, the AIADMK pushed the petition with the general accusation that a state of lawlessness prevailed in Tamil Nadu since the DMK-led coalition took over in 2006.