A five-member team of the Bar Council of India (BCI) constituted by the Supreme Court has found unsatisfactory the reply of Kathua lawyers who were asked to explain April 9 incident during which they tried to stop the Crime Branch from filing a charge sheet in the rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Kathua, Greater Kashmir learnt.
The BCI team met Kathua lawyers at the District Court Complex and asked them about the ruckus created by them that day.
The team comprises former BCI chief Tarun Agarwal; BCI co-chairmen S Prabakaran and Ramachandra G Shah and members Razia Beig of the Bar Council of Uttrakhand and Naresh Dikshit, an advocate.
The Kathua Bar Association denied they obstructed the Crime Branch team and victims’ lawyers. They told the visiting team that they had only objected to the presence of police in the court complex.
The Bar members said the media had “wrongly blamed” them for stopping the CB team.
“But (Kathua) lawyers failed to show any video that could absolve them. The lawyers told BCI team they will send a video later,” a court official said. The official said the BCI team was not satisfied with Kathua lawyers’ replies.
“There is a possibility that BCI can recommend suspending licenses of the lawyers for their misconduct,” he added. The BCI team will submit its report to the Supreme Court, which will decide on further action.