Bangalore, March 2: An incident of media persons representing a private Kannada TV news channel being attacked by lawyers took place at the City Civil Court premises in Bangalore on Friday.
The lawyers reportedly barred the entry of journalists to the City Civil Court complex saying the media portrayed them in bad light. The incident happened just after former BJP leader Janardhan Reddy was produced in court in connection with the illegal mining case.
Witnesses said that the lawyers threw stones and bottles at the mediapersons. Even policemen, who arrived on the scene to control the situation, were not spared. DCP of Bangalore Central G Ramesh was reportedly injured during the attack. He has been shifted to a hospital.
The lawyers were reportedly upset with the media over its questioning a road blockade by protesting lawyers earlier this year.
Ex-Karnataka Lokayukta Santosh Hegde however condemned the incident. He said, "It is sad that people in a noble profession are involved in such activities. I condemn the act of the lawyers. This should be severely dealt by law."
Cameramen Anith, Nagesh and reporter Ravi of Suvarna News were attacked by lawyers at the court premises when they along with other media persons were engaged in bringing live telecast of Janardhana Reddy's expected appearance for a hearing.
The concerned channel has even reported that its cameras and OB van have been damaged due to the incident. A confrontation between media persons, police and lawyers also took place at the spot giving way to chaos and confusion.
Following the incident, media persons representing other media also sat down in protest of the behaviour displayed by the representatives of law. The police, who reportedly, watched helplessly as lawyers went on a rampage, subsequently brought the situation under control by resorting to lathicharge and even fired a few rounds in the air. DCP Ramesh was also reportedly injured in the stone-throwing by the lawyers.
When asked about the incident, Chief Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda feigned ignorance. "I don't know. I don't have any information. I will ask Law Minister Suresh Kumar," he told journalists before proceeding in his car.
Reacting to the incident, Y.S. V. Datta, spokesman of the JD(S) said: “Such incidents will not bring respect to anyone. The Govenrment should convene a meeting of representatives of the media and bar and put an end to the unsavoury saga”.
On reports that a lawyer who is part of the legal team of Kumaraswamy was also involved in the incident, Mr. Datta said, “it was not proper to give a political colour to the episode. The lawyers are a community of their own. They may have allegiance to certain political parties, but they work independently when it comes to discharging their duties as professionals,” he said.
“Lawyers are supposed to be thorough on legal affairs. They should have something to say about the incidents. But, it is the responsibility of the government to make sure that the police, the lawyers and the media perform their duties without intervening in each others' duty,” he said.
Reacting to the episode, Suresh Kumar, the Law Minister, said he was pained by the turn of events. “I am away in Mysore. I am yet to get complete information about the incident. But it is not proper to paint all the lawyers in one brush,” he said.
He also hinted that the government would soon convene a meeting of all the stake-holders to find a permanent solution to the issue. “I had proposed to convene a meeting of the representatives of the police, the media and the lawyers after a protest by lawyers led to traffic disruption for over seven hours in Majestic area some time ago. Now, it is high time that such a meeting is organized. The government will definitely not spare the guilty,” he said.
Home Minister R. Ashok reportedly disconnected the call while talking to the "Suvarna TV" channel.
Meanwhile, prohibitory orders have been imposed outside the court premises. Home Minister P Chidambaram has called for a meeting with Karnataka Chief Minister Sadananda Gowda, the court officials and the media.
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