JAMMU: The Bar Association of Jammu has accused the J and K Government of misusing the Terrorists and Disruptive (Prevention) Act (TADA) by registering a case against a lawyer, The lawyers here are on strike for the last eight days to protest the registration of a TADA case against a lawyer at Bhaderwah.
The police registered a case against Suresh Katal, a lawyer of Jammu, whose father Swami Raj Katal, a BJP leader, was gunned down by militants on May 31, 1994. After his death, communal Clashes took place resulting in the death of a woman. Police then registered a case of murder against Suresh Katal, Addressing media persons, R.S. Mehia, as senior lawyer, said that in a situation like insurgency as is prevailing in the state, sudden clashes between communities were quite possible and invoking TADA against Katal was a blatant misuse of the provisions of law.
Narrating the facts, he said the police registered an FIR on May 30 evening about the killing Swami Raj Katal and a woman, but no one had been named accused in the FIR. Again on Jung) 3, 1994, police registered FIR on the complaint of Abdul Majid in which the lawyer been named as accused.
Mehta said the second report false, malafide and deliberately sponsored by the Administration which would only aggravate tension.
Accusing the government of playing one community against another, he said the government should follow a non-partisan and non-discriminatory policy against all sections of people.
Mehta said that the Bar Association was a body of professionals and had nothing to do with politics but it was interested in maintenance of internal law and order Demanding withdrawal of cases against Suresh Katal, the Bar association has threatened to intensify the agitation if the demands were not accepted.
Article extracted from this publication >> July 22, 1994
