Summary:
Allahabad: The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday directed the chief judicial magistrate of Etah district to conduct an inquiry into an allegation that the police assaulted a lawyer in the district on December 21, and harassed and humiliated his relatives.
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Allahabad: The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday directed the chief judicial magistrate of Etah district to conduct an inquiry into an allegation that the police assaulted a lawyer in the district on December 21, and harassed and humiliated his relatives.
Taking cognizance of a letter from the Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh that requested the court to take appropriate action in the incident, a Division Bench of Chief Justice Govind Mathur and Justice Saumitra Dayal Singh directed the CJM to gather relevant facts, including audio-visual evidence and electronic documents, and submit a report by the next hearing on January 8.
The court said the Chief Justice’s Secretariat had also received a letter on the matter from the High Court Bar Association.
Certain other advocates have also sent emails to the court in protest.
In its letter, the Bar Council identified the lawyer who was allegedly manhandled as Rajendra Sharma.
“Having considered the facts stated in the letters referred above, we deem it appropriate to have a complete report of the incident through Chief Judicial Magistrate, Etah,” observed the judges.
The court directed the district magistrate and the senior district superintendent of police to cooperate with the inquiry and supply all relevant facts and documents.
According to the police, Rajendra Sharma, a government advocate, was involved in a dispute with another lawyer, identified as Avinash Sharma, over a house in Katra in the Kotwali police station area.
Rajendra Sharma has been living in a portion of the house on rent for the last three decades.