All India Black Flag Day

This a protest by Lawyers called by the Bar Council of India.

With deep anguish and anger, we express our shock with the near total breakdown of the Constitutional machinery in the State of Tamil Nadu and the administration of justice coming to a grinding halt.

The police violence on the afternoon of the 19.02.09 within the precincts of the Madras High Court and the offices of the lawyers for over four hours is unparallel in the history of independent India and has left the judiciary in Tamil Nadu in a quandary. The State Government has not come forward to hold itself accountable for this mass police violence in a democratic institution meant to uphold the 'Rule of Law' and the enforcement of the Constitution.

We are shocked that the Honorable Acting Chief Justice Mukhopadhyaya with other judges including Justice Arumugaperumal Adhithan, Justice R. Sudhakar, Justice Mohanram, Justice Sasidharan, Justice Sathyanarayana and Justice Jyothimani who came out of the court halls hearing the commotion were not spared by the police and also the advocates who shielded them suffered grievous injuries and are hospitalized.

The armed police with five feet 'lathies' and stones charged the lawyers without any provocation from the lawyers side, beating several of them mercilessly and damaging all automobiles en route entered court halls, Advocates chambers, administrative offices and lathicharged both advocates and others present. The police dragged advocates and also other persons found even on the floors above the ground level and severely beat them. Women advocates were also not spared. In addition to the physical assault, they were also subjected to sexist offensive language.

The policemen barged into the court buildings and brute force broke window panes, caused extensive damage to furniture and records of courts including electronic equipments, LCD television sets, computers and lifts, the registry, the offices of the Personal Assistants of the judges, the Associations inside the campus like the Madras High Court Advocates Association and the Law Associations and the libraries and even the offices of the Government pleaders and prosecutors, advocate chambers and vehicles parked in the campus. Close to 200 cars and two wheelers damaged.

Advocates, litigants, court staff, judges, children in the day care centre near the family courts and general public were trapped in various court buildings. Even when the judges fled into the chamber of the acting Chief Justice for protection and locked the doors, the riot police started banging the doors of his chamber.

The Prominence given to the 'shoot at sight' orders, simultaneous with the closure of court with the physical presence of a large contingent of armed police around courts all over the State given the most disturbing appearance as if the State judiciary's views need not be considered by the ruling Government when its actions almost appear as a seize of the democratic institution. This sends a dangerous message to the general public completely shaking their faith in the 'Rule of Law' and the independence of the judiciary.