CHANDIGARH: In flagrant violation of the Supreme Court enters, the Punjab government has failed to provide security to about 30 advocates practicing in the Punjab and I Haryana High Court and various other courts in the state. They had been dealing with the cases relating to human rights violation by the police and defending accused tinder TADA. The Supreme Court Justices, Mr. Kuldip Singh and Mr. N, Venkatachala, on July 2, 1995 had directed the state government to provide security to all those advocates who genuinely apprehend danger to their lives from militants and anti-SOC tat elements in the state of Punjab, If the request for security is recommended by the District and Sessions judge of the district concerned or the Registrar of the High Court it may be treated as genuine.
Even after live months of the decision these Ines been no notaries lunge in the ground situation with the advocates repeatedly &mantling that or act should be implemented forthwith in view of threat perception. Mr. Navkiran Singh, one of the leading human rights activist based here, said that the Punjab government had been approached a number of times for providing CRPF. BSF or any other security but to no avail. He further said that going by the track record of the Punjab police none of the human rights activists were ready to accept the security personnel belonging to the Punjab police. Inquiries reveal that the office of the Registrar of the High Court too had written a number of letters to the state government but to no avail. On the other hand, the government while expressing its readiness to implement the Supreme Court directive is of the view that security cannot be provided as per the choice of the lawyers. The order of the court does not specify that only the CRPF or the crop personnel were to be deputed for the purpose.
The letter written to the apex court in May 1994 by 17 such advocates was treated as a petition and an order was passed to this of fact It was detailed in the petition that on walking art the state police left the public mind “aghast” as it was allegedly involved in the kidnapping and elimination of a number of advocates fighting TADA cases and highlighting human rights violations.
About four years ago, Mr. Ranbir Singh Manshia was kidnapped from Bathinda followed by the abduction of Jagwinder Singh of Kapurthala. In 1993, Mr. Kulwant Singh of Ropar was abducted along with his wife and minor son. The Cal has already in dieted the police in this case. Yet another advocate, Mr. Sukhwinder Singh Bhatti of Sangrur, was allegedly kidnapped by the police, the lawyers had informed the Chief Justice.
Article extracted from this publication >> December 8, 1995
