Bar Council of India (BCI) presses alarm button after co-chairman attacked at chambers in Bengaluru

CHENNAI: The near-fatal attack on senior advocate and co-chairman of the Bar Council of India (BCI) Y R Sadashiva Reddy inside his chambers in Bengaluru on April 16 has been condemned by the BCI, which has now demanded protection to lawyers, law offices and associations by treating them as ‘sensitive zones.’
In a sharply worded statement, the BCI chairman Manan Kumar Mishra said the attack on Reddy is an assault on the entire legal fraternity’s ability to regulate itself, to enforce ethical standards, and to function without fear or coercion. He demanded the immediate arrest and prosecution of the culprits.
“If an advocate is not safe in his own chamber while performing his professional and statutory duties, what safety can be guaranteed to any officer of the court? How can members of the Bar pass orders, conduct verification, or even discharge day-to-day functions if they are made targets of criminal assault for doing so?,” asked Mishra.
In this regard, he has demanded that full security be extended to all advocates under threat, irrespective of their designation or position. Every district and police jurisdiction must establish advocate protection cells headed by a designated officer responsible for immediate intervention, he said.
All Bar Council offices and court complexes, including chambers and Bar association offices located therein, must be treated as sensitive institutional sites. Security audits must be carried out, and physical infrastructure should include round-the-clock police presence, secure access control, installation of panic buttons, and CCTV surveillance,” Mishra said.
S Prabakaran, senior advocate and vice-chairman of the BCI, said courts cannot function, nor can justice be delivered, if those who bring the law to life are themselves left unprotected, unguarded, and at the mercy of violence.
The BCI has sought a centralised grievance and emergency response system for advocate protection must be launched by the Ministry of Law and Justice in collaboration with Bar Councils.
A joint task force must be established at the national level involving the union ministry of home affairs, ministry of law and justice, state DGPs, and Bar Council representatives. This body should be empowered to investigate, track, and dismantle networks or groups that are systematically targeting legal professionals across the country, it said.