HC appoints committee to bring peace between advocates and police

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: The High Court of Karnataka on Thursday appointed a 10-member high-level committee that includes the Advocate General, the DG & IGP (or an IGP rank representative) and the Principal Secretary of the Home Department to find ways to prevent differences from arising between the advocates, police and the administration.

The constitution of the committee was announced by the division bench of Chief Justice Prasanna B Varale and Justice Krishna S Dixit who were hearing a suomotu petition on the incident in Chikkamagaluru where an advocate was beaten up by the police.

This led to a law and order problem in Chikkamagaluru. While the State has handed over the investigation to the CID, the HC on Thursday said that in addition to the investigation agency doing its job, “In our considered opinion which the tall members of the Bar too agreed all stakeholders should gather at one place to discuss the matter and generate a congenial atmosphere and restore amiability between the Bar, the police and the District administration.”

The other members of the Committee are senior advocate and former Advocate General, Uday Holla and senior advocates Jaykumar S Patil, V Lakshminarayana, KN Phaneendra, D R Ravishankar, President of the Advocates Association, Bengaluru, Vivek Subba Reddy and the President of the Chikkamagaluru Bar Association.

The Committee was directed to meet at the Advocate General’s office on December 9 at 11 am. The Committee will then submit its recommendations to the High Court.

Six police officers of the Chikmagalur Town Police Station including a sub-inspector of police were suspended over the November 30 incident in which advocate Preetham was caught by the police riding a twowheeler without helmet.

He was taken to the police station, where he was allegedly assaulted by the police. After protests by the advocates, the cops were suspended and the investigation of the five cases filed in this issue was handed over to the CID.

On Thursday, the HC was informed that some police officers had gone on strike over the suspension. Expressing serious concern the HC said, “We share the same anguish. Strict discipline being the first requirement of the police force, it would be a case of fence swallowing the crop. What a section of the police staff has allegedly done is absolutely unacceptable to this Court and the civil society.”

However, the HC refused to direct the arrest of the police officers involved in the November 30 incident and said restraint was the need of the hour.

Citing the Supreme Court judgement in Lalita Kumari Vs Government of Uttar Pradesh, the HC said that it was an issue pertaining to the domain of the Investigating Agency and “therefore restraint in this regard is warranted.” The HC adjourned the hearing to December 12. (WP 26762/2023)