Mumbai, 29 Jan 2024 (Yes Punjab News)
In a sad and shocking incident, Adv. Rajaram Adhav and his wife Adv. Manisha Adhav, both lawyers practicing in Rahuri court of Ahmadnagar district of Maharashtra were murdered by their own client, named Kiran Dushing who was accused of 12 serious crimes like murder, forced theft, burglary, extortion, Arms Act etc. and his four other associates.
There is an atmosphere of anger in the lawyers across the state. Kiran Dushing locked both of them in their own house and demanded a ransom of five lakh rupees, tortured the couple for five-six hours as they refused to pay.
They were beaten to death by putting plastic bags on their heads around night time. The dead bodies of the Adhaav couple were thrown in a well near the graveyard in Umbere village tying them with stones.
The All India Lawyers Union, a national organisation of lawyers, has demanded arrest of all the accused, appointment of a special public prosecutor in the case and hard punishment through fast-track courts. After this unfortunate incident, AILU is again demanding implementation of Advocate Protection Act in Maharashtra.
AILU expresses its condolences to the Adhaav family and appeals to the Bar Associations of various courts in the State to strongly protest the incident in all possible ways.
Last year 2023 in Uttar Pradesh Adv. Umesh Pal was murdered in broad daylight. In April, lawyer Virender Kumar Narwal was shot dead by two assailants in Delhi’s Dwarka area. The lawyer was in possession of the documents of the disputed agricultural plot belonging to the accused’s family.
All district courts were shut down by Delhi lawyers to protest the murder, and the Coordination Committee of all District Bar Associations had decided to boycott bail and hearings and shut down the photocopying machines in the courts.
According to the National Crime Records Bureau, 143 cases of assault on lawyers have come to light in India in 2020.
Lawyers often face harassment and intimidation from their clients, opponents and even judges. Assaults include verbal abuse, threats, physical assault, beating, injury, and killing. According to a 2022 United Nations report, more than 2,500 lawyers were killed, detained or kidnapped worldwide between 2010 and 2020.
That is why International Lawyers in Crisis Day has been observed every year since 2010 across the world to raise awareness about the threat to the safety of lawyers.
In our country on March 21, 2023, the Rajasthan State Legislative Assembly passed the Rajasthan Advocates Protection Bill, 2023 in an amended form to prevent violence against lawyers. 5 crore rupees are given annually by the state government to the bar council for the welfare of lawyers there.
Also, if a criminal causes damage to a lawyer’s property, a provision is made in that law to recover the amount of compensation fixed by the court and give it to the victim lawyer. Implementation of Protection of Lawyers Act is necessary in all states across the country including Maharashtra as soon as possible.
The Punjab and Haryana State Bar Council has sent two drafts of the Punjab Advocates (Protection) Bill 2023 and the Haryana Advocates (Protection) Bill 2023 to both the states of Punjab and Haryana and sought their early implementation. T
he bar councils of both the states have warned that if appropriate steps are not taken, they will participate in the state-wide agitation and start a peaceful protest.
It is necessary to ensure protection through the Advocates Protection Act so that lawyers can perform their duties without fear of such harassment and intimidation. If the Advocate Protection Act comes into force, lawyers will have some protection from assault, serious injury, criminal force and intimidation. Damage to their property can be compensated.
However, the members of the Maharashtra and Goa Bar Council, who were elected by lawyers across the state, are extremely inactive and indifferent in this regard. AILU has demanded that they take immediate steps in this regard.
