Bar Council of India to probe Jammu lawyers’ conduct

NEW DELHI: The Bar Council of India on Sunday asked the Bar Association of Jammu (BAJ) to call off its strike and said that it will form a five-member team to probe the conduct of the association in the Kathua rape-and-murder case involving an eight-year-old girl.

“If any lawyer is found guilty in the case, we have the rights to cancel their licence for a lifetime,” said Manan Kumar Mishra, chairman of BCI.

An FIR was registered against lawyers who tried to block the presentation of a charge sheet by the Crime Branch in the court of a chief judicial magistrate at Kathua in the case earlier this week. The lawyers also tried to prevent a woman lawyer from appearing for the victim’s family.

Former Justice Tarun Agarwal will lead the BCI team. It will submit a report to BCI, which will be given to the apex court.

Last Tuesday, the BAJ had called a strike against the illegal presence of Rohingyas and Bangladeshi nationals, while alleging that its agitation for a CBI probe into the Kathua case was wrongly being portrayed as “communal”.

Meanwhile, people from all walks of life gathered in large numbers in the capital on Sunday to protest against increasing incidents of rape and atrocities on Dalits and minorities. They demanded strict action against the accused in the Kathua and Unnao rape cases.

Protests over the Kathua and Unnao cases were also held in other parts of the country, including Ahmedabad, Chennai, and Kolkata.