Frisking irks Chandigarh lawyers

CHANDIGARH - One lawyer’s security awareness has caused frustration among many of his colleagues at Chandigarh High Court Tuesday. They have complained about increased frisking and questioning by Chandigarh Police at the court gates.

It began Monday when Arvinder Thakur, a human rights activist and lawyer, gained entry inside the court premises with four cartridges in his pocket.

He went up to the retiring room of a district and sessions judge with the cartridges and complained about the negligent attitude of security personnel at the court.

Following this, checking was suddenly stepped up at the gates of the court Tuesday. But many lawyers were not happy with this. They registered a complaint with the bar association.

“This is sheer waste of time as we have to pass through the gates several times a day. They should at least spare lawyers from this checking. We want disciplinary action against Thakur,” Yogesh Boriwal, a lawyer, told IANS.

“This is a serious issue that a lawyer took cartridges inside the court. We will decide further course of action in our house meeting. So far, we have not given any police complaint,” A.S. Chahal, president of bar association, told IANS.

“We cannot dismiss Arvind Thakur from the bar association. But we will certainly do something to make sure that such incidents do not happen again,” stated Chahal.

Thakur told IANS Tuesday: “There are only a handful of lawyers who are protesting against increased frisking. I do not understand why they are against it. We also demand the installation of CCTV cameras and latest gadgets inside the premises of the district court to keep an eye on anti-social elements.”