CHENNAI: The attack on litigants by unruly advocates on September 14 have aroused the anger of the advocate fraternity, already aggrieved by the criminalisation of the profession and hooliganism at the Egmore Court.Worst still were complaints of police inaction. The litigants had preferred a complaint against the advocates, who had abused and assaulted them, but they alleged that the Egmore police had refused to accept their complaint.“We waited in the police station for nearly two hours and asked the police officials to accept our complaint, but they refused,” said Sadique, one of the members of the family, who took refuge at the X Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court.Sadique, along with his mother, sister and younger brother, appeared in the court with respect to a domestic violence case. “When the argument went against the woman who foisted the case against me, she immediately informed her advocate in the court,” claimed Sadique.“When we came out after the hearing, a group of advocates surrounded and abused us. While we ran to the magistrate for help, they caught my brother and beat him up,” said Sadique.Only after the magistrate made a call to the police, were the family members rescued from the court and dropped on the Mount Road. “We went again to the police station and tried to file a complaint, but police discouraged us,” he added.When Express contacted Egmore police inspector A P Selvam, he said there was no attack on the family and there was only a fight between advocates of either side who represented the case. The inspector also claimed that he had received a complaint and returned an acknowledgement.However, advocate K Elangovan, who represented Rafika Banu (wife of Sadique) in the case, said whenever there was a problem in the court, the police tried to misrepresent it as a clash between advocates. “We have not received any acknowledgement from the police,” he added.
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