NEW DELHI: The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), allegedly involved in the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, has launched a hunt for a suitable lawyer to defend itself before a court here which will decide whether the organization should be declared unlawful or not.
The US based Institute of World Affairs, which is connected with the LTTE, is believed to have sent a message here inquiring whether the noted criminal and constitutional lawyer, Ram Jethmalani, would be willing to provide legal representation to the LTTE.
The necessity to engage a lawyer has arisen following the notices issued by an appropriate court on July 1 asking the LTTE to show cause “in writing” why the association should not be declared unlawful under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967 (UAPA).
The notices were issued to the LTTE’s headquarters at Jaffna, Sri Lanka, its London branch and to K.R.Sagar, one of the office bearers of LTTE at London. Almost a year after the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu, the Central government issued a notification under Section 3 of the UAPA declaring the LTTE unlawful including its members, activists, armed groups and sympathizers working on “Indian soil.”
The notification issued on May 14 was referred to the statutory authority seeking adjudication whether or not “there is sufficient cause for declaring the LTTE to be an unlawful association.”
Article extracted from this publication >> Aug 21, 1992
