Letter Petition In Bombay High Court Seeks Security For Lawyers In The Wake Of Abduction & Subsequent Killing Of A Pune Lawyer

The letter has been addressed by Pruthviraj Pradeep Phalke, stating that the profession of advocacy often leads to hostilities, however, commission of such a heinous crime in the aftermath cannot be tolerated.

It is alleged that a lawyer was murdered and his fundamental right to descent burial/last rites was breached, merely because he raised his voice against the evils of corruption. He has therefore sought adequate protection for lawyers, to ensure that they do not live in fear while litigating for the cause of society.

He wrote,

"If protectors of law are subjected to such open hunting grounds in the hands of adversaries then the objectives of the Public Interest Litigation, The Right to Information Act, The Lokpal Act, The Legal Aid Act will be defeated as lawyers in fear of assassination and such other offences against their body and property will reprimand them from any pro bono activities."

He pointed out that the Advocate Protection Bill, 2019 is languishing in the Parliament.

Umesh More was a practising lawyer in District and Sessions Court, Shivajinagar, Pune. He was allegedly abducted on October 1, 2020 from the vicinity of the Court premises in broad daylight and was later strangulated to death, dumped and burnt.

It is averred that he was a lawyer of merit and was also involved in many pro bono litigations in interest of the society.

In his letter petition, Phalke has alleged that the act of abducting a lawyer from the vicinity of the Court premises and then assassinating him is not possible without the tacit support of law and order mechanism of the city.

It is alleged that this incident "also involves certain officers from the Revenue department of Government of Maharashtra. But such government officers suspected in such heinous offence of executing an officer of the court are let free to destroy evidence and implicate their coercion further on the demised lawyer's family and friends."

Phalke has therefore sought an independent judicial inquiry into the matter in order to ensure that investigation meets the ends of natural justice.

"The profession of advocacy certainly leads to hostilities among councils due to heated arguments or any adversarial judgements or orders in conclusion thereof. But such hostilities rarely lead to such heinous offence of assassinating the opposing voice in legal fraternity. This offence committed against an officer of the court as he had raised his voice against the evils of corruption prevalent in the society is spurious act to shut any voice against such evils," he wrote.

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