Patiala House & the Supreme Court: All that happened today (plus BCI’s promise of stringent action)

In a situation of unprecedented gravity, a district court complex in the heart of Lutyens Delhi, was targeted by rogue advocates once again. Worse, the orders from the Supreme Court of India, the apex Constitutional court of the land, went unheeded by the Delhi police..Despite directions by the Supreme Court to ensure maintenance of law and order in the Patiala House complex and to regulate the entry of lawyers and visitors into the courtroom, the events of Monday repeated itself as the Delhi police once again failed to maintain the sanctity of the court..Apart from the law and order issues, what came to fore today was the presence of lumpen elements at the Bar, the same issue which has been a big problem in various States like Tamil Nadu..Here is a timeline of the events that happened in Patiala House and Supreme Court today..Patiala House.9:50 AM.After the events of Monday, it seemed like that the police had learnt a lesson or two as greater security deployment was seen outside Patiala House court complex. There seemed to be a lot of security preparation progressing early in anticipation of the 2’o clock hearing..Supreme Court of India – Court room 5.10.30 AM.Hearing in the PIL filed by JNU alumnus ND Jayaprakash commences before a Division Bench presided by Justice Jasti Chelameswar with Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre as puisne judge. Senior Advocates KTS Tulsi and Rajeev Dhavan and advocate Prashant Bhsuhan appear for the petitioner. Senior Advocate Sidharth Luthra appears for the Delhi High Court along with advocate ADN Rao while Senior Advocate and SCBA Vice President Ajit Kumar Sinha appears for the Delhi police..The petitioner raises serious concerns about the safety inside Patiala House court complex..“There is a serious danger to the security of the life of the Accused. He could be lynched by the mob if he is produced before the court….The Commissioner of police says this is a minor incident. I am sorry but violence inside court is not a minor incident”, submitted Tulsi..Rajeev Dhavan submits that it was an open court hearing and nobody was entitled to stop media or other visitors..“This is not an ordinary incident. It is an incident which concerns the judiciary. It was an open court hearing. People are entitled to attend if it is an open court hearing. How are lawyers entitled to use violence to remove people from court?”, asked Dhavan..11 AM.A lawyer Rajiv Yadav, who was standing at the back of the court room and making loud remarks finally snaps and shouts ‘Vande Mataram’. Security personnel rush in and he is escorted out; he obliges and there is no use of force..12 PM.Yadav is summoned by the Bench and he apologises. The court records the same. Initially, the Bench was not keen on recording the name of the lawyer but it finally does so at the insistence of Rajeev Dhavan and Prashant Bhushan..12.05 PM.The Court then passes an order regulating the entry of people inside the Patiala house court room where the hearing was slated..Only six lawyers, representing the parties, and five journalists were to be allowed inside the court room today. In addition to this, four relatives of the accused, one JNU faculty member, and one JNU student were also to be allowed..Patiala House.1 PM – 2.30 PM.Reports start pouring in of further violence erupting in Patiala House court – led by the same set of lawyers who had spearheaded the hooliganism on Monday..Supreme Court of India.2.30 PM.Senior Advocates Kapil Sibal, Indira Jaising, Rajeev Dhavan and advocate Prashant Bhushan mention the matter once again before the Bench presided by Justice Chelameswar. Sibal excuses himself from the hearing in the Arunachal Pradesh controversy to be present for the mentioning..A visibly upset Jaising tells the court that the lawyers appearing for the accused Kanhaiya Kumar had locked themselves in the court room in Patiala House for fear of a brutal attack by the lawyers..The Court asks Ajit Kumar Sinha, who was appearing for the Delhi police, to verify what was happening..2.40 PM.Sinha informs court that he is not able to contact any of the police officials..3 PM.Prashant Bhushan reads out a news report as news of violence against the accused Kanhaiya Kumar started coming in..Court tasks a team of lawyers to go to Patiala House to assess the situation and report back to the court. Senior Advocates Kapil Sibal, Rajeev Dhavan, Dushyant Dave, Harin Raval and Ajit Kumar Sinha and advocate ADN Rao are tasked with the same..The Police officer in charge of security of Supreme Court is summoned to the Court room by the Bench. He is directed to provide security to the team of lawyers..The court also laments at the presence of the lumpen elements in the Bar..3.15 PM.The lawyers manned by security personnel leave Supreme Court for Patiala House..4 PM to 4.30 PM.The team returns to Supreme Court; narrates their ordeal..“We were abused and objects were thrown at us”, Rajiv Dhavan.“When we went there, there was a crowd of such a proportion which was unprecedented. Bottles, piece of flower pots and small pebbles were thrown at us. We were abused and called “Pakistan ke Dalle” and “Bhenchod”….This particular atmosphere is unprecedented. It is our fear that the police did not do their job.”.Dhavan also narrates the incident about one particular lawyer who gained access to the court room in Patiala house, punched the accused, and then walked away. “Despite even a direction from the Registrar of the court to catch him, the police let him go”, said Dhavan..Dushyant Dave.“It was an atmosphere of fear and terrorising people. I have told the DCP that you are under orders from the Supreme Court of India and you shall not take anybody else’s orders. But I fear this police cannot maintain the law and order. It was complete breakdown of law and order machinery.”.The team also informed the Court that Kanhaiya Kumar was still in the court waiting for medical check up and he will leave the court after that was done..The Court asks Sinha whether the Delhi police would be able to ensure that he is safely taken out. Sinha checks with the police and replies in the affirmative..Order.The Court after hearing the lawyers has directed the team which visited Patiala House to submit its report tomorrow. A report regarding the observations made by the Registrar General of the Delhi High Court has to be submitted by 2 pm tomorrow. The following is the relevant portion of the order..“The members of the Committee who visited the Patiala House Courts Complex pursuant to the orders passed earlier returned at about 4.00 p.m. today and made an oral report, the events they observed. We request them to submit a report in writing. We also request Mr. Luthra, learned senior counsel appearing for Delhi High Court to submit a report of the observations made by the Registrar General of the Delhi High court who was present in the proceedings in the noon in the Patiala House court Complex by 2.00 p.m. tomorrow (18.2.2016). Mr. Ajit K. Sinha, Sr. Adv representing Commissioner of Police, Delhi will also submit a report by Friday the 19th February, 2016 by 10.30 a.m..The Court has also directed the Commissioner of Police to take necessary steps to ensure the safety of the accused until he is produced next before the trial court..“We may place on record that it is reported today by the members of the Committee that the accused was manhandled while he was produced before the Court today. We therefore make it clear that the responsibility is exclusively that of the Commissioner of Police, Delhi to ensure the safety of the accused.”.The case will now be taken up at 2 pm tomorrow..Patiala House hearing.The accused Kanhaiya Kumar has been remanded to judicial custody for 14 days. Advocate Vrinda Grover appear for the accused today..No Central government law officer summoned by the court.What was interesting was that the Supreme Court did not summon any senior law officer. The Ministry of Home Affairs is a respondent to the petition; yet neither the Attorney General for India nor the Solicitor General or any of the Additional Solicitor Generals was called by the Court..The Bar .The legal fraternity is in shock over the fact that the violence has been orchestrated and carried out by a group of lawyers. This was not unexpected considering the pathetic state of legal education in the country and the failure by the Bar Council of India to regulate the profession and take the erring lawyers to task..As KTS Tulsi put it today,.“We had to ensure that events like in Tamil Nadu did not multiply. But it has now happened in Delhi.”.Speaking to Bar & Bench, the Chairman of BCI Manan Kumar Mishra said that the BCI would be taking stringent action against these lawyers.