SC Takes Suo Motu Cognisance Of Attack On Senior Advocate Gaurav Bhatia
The Supreme Court of India today took suo motu cognisance to investigate the attack on Senior Advocate Gaurav Bhatia and Advocate Muskan Gupta at the District Court in Gautam Budh Nagar during a lawyers' strike.
Senior Advocate Vikas Singh expressed concerns about the mistreatment of Senior Advocate Gaurav Bhatia by junior lawyers during the same strike. This issue was addressed collectively by Attorney General R Venkataramani and Senior Advocates KK Venugopal and Jayant Bhushan.
During the hearing before the Chief Justice-led bench, it was disclosed that the incident occurred on March 20, involving a junior lawyer forcefully taking Bhatia's band and the harassment of Muskan Gupta, who was asked to leave the courtroom during the strike at Court 8 in the District Court complex. The actions were condemned by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), leading to a resolution being passed, with the Bar Council of India (BCI) also looking into the matter. Both Mr. Bhatia and Ms. Gupta were present during the bench's discussion.
The bench promptly responded by issuing a notice to the President and Secretary of the Janpath Diwani Bar Association in Gautam Budh Nagar. The Chief Justice's directives included securing CCTV footage of the incident, obtaining a report from the District Judge, and gathering information from administrative staff regarding Muskan Gupta's mistreatment in Court 8. The bench emphasised previous Supreme Court rulings discouraging advocate strikes due to their negative impact on litigants.
Source: Live Law
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