The five day standoff between lawyers and judicial officers in the Trivandrum district courts appear to be heading for an amicable solution with both sides toning down their earlier hard stance even as the Chief Justice of the Kerala High court sought a detailed report on the issue.
The decision was taken after the bar council members held a meeting with the Chief Justice and four other judges of the High Court. At the end of the 90-minute long meeting, it was still not clear whether the complaints filed by the Judicial Officers Association on behalf of the magistrate and the lawyers against each other will be withdrawn.
The incident happened last week when lawyers took out their anger on a magistrate, Deepa Mohanan, who had refused bail to a transport bus driver involved in a vehicle accident case. As the magistrate was about to leave the courtroom, the lawyers bolted it from outside leaving the judge stranded inside. Reports said that the lawyers also attempted to whisk away the accused which led to a skirmish. A timely intervention by the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) saw Mohanan being freed. Later, the magistrate gave a written complaint to the CJM following which her complaint was forwarded to the local police station, which registered a case against the 12 lawyers under non-bailable charges.
Later, the Bar Association at the Vanchiyoor courts in the state capital decided to boycott the Magistrate court.
— India Legal Bureau