SC terms TN court violence serious and sad

Terming the Tamil Nadu court violence as 'serious and sad', the Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the state government to inform it by Thursday at whose instance the police had entered the Madras High Court premises on February 19, the day of the lawyer-police clash.

"We want to know at whose instance the police was allowed to enter the premises of the High Court," a bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan said. The apex court termed the February 19 incident as 'sad' and said it will pass a formal order relating to the holding of judicial inquiry on Thursday.

The court said the committee to inquire into the incident will be reconstituted on Thursday after consultation between the members of the bar and the state government. The advocate body from Chennai had objected to the setting up of the committee by the Tamil Nadu government.

The bench observed that the incident was serious in which the judges and lawyers became victims of the clash and there was a lot of destruction of property. The apex court said that the state should generously consider offering financial assistance to the lawyers whose vehicles were damaged by the police in the court premises.

The court said that for those lawyers who were injured in the clash, the state will bear the expenses for their treatment. The judges also took exception to the existence of a police station inside the court premises.

"We will not allow any police station inside the court premises," the bench said. The court also asked the lawyers to call off their strike and resume their work. The bench said appropriate action would be taken against those found responsible for the clash.