The Bar Association of Hubli, on the 15th of February, passed a resolution which stated that none of its advocate members would represent the three Kashmiri engineering students who are charged with sedition (Section 124A IPC) for allegedly raising pro-Pakistan slogans. The three engineering students were arrested for raising pro-Pakistan slogans and posting the same in social media a year after the terrorist attack at Pulwama, which claimed the lives of many CRPF personals. The resolution passed in Kannada translates to, that the accused persons had engaged in “anti-national” activities and no advocate of the Bar Association would appear on their behalf.
Prior Facts
The three students from Kashmir were studying in the KLE Institute of Technology. A selfie video of the three went viral on 14th February, as the posted it in WhatsApp, where they can be seen uttering something in the background initially and later on they were heard chanting “Azadi” and “Pakistan Zindabad” slogans. The music they played in the video is said to be the Pakistan military’s media wing, the Inter-Service Public Relations (ISPR) song, which is still needed to be confirmed by the police.
The three of them were arrested on Saturday, on sedition charges for allegedly raising pro-Pakistan slogans and posting the same on social media. According to the preliminary investigation conducted by the police, the three are said to be from Shopian, Kashmir. They were arrested after the college management filed a complaint against them. They were released on Sunday after the execution of a bond under Section 169 of the Cr.P.C. However, right-wing activists flayed police for releasing the three; as a result, the police on Monday re-arrested the three and took them to Court, which remanded them to judicial custody till March 2.
Key Features
- The Bar Association through its resolution dated 15th February 2020, made a request to all its advocate members not to represent the three Kashmiri students.
- The Bar Association of Hubli also wrote to the President of Karnataka Bar Association regarding the same.
- The resolution was issued in the Kannada language which translates to, that the accused indulged in “anti-national activities” and that no advocate of the Bar Association would appear on their behalf.
The Resolution and similar acts before
The Bar Association, through its resolution passed on 15th February, has made a request to all its advocate members not to represent the three Kashmiri students charged with sedition for allegedly raising pro-Pakistan slogans and uploading the same on WhatsApp, a year after the devastating Pulwama incident which claimed lives of so many CRPF personals. The Bar Association of Hubli also wrote to the President of Karnataka Bar Association regarding the same. The resolution was passed unanimously by all the members who were present. The association has around 1600 members. According to the resolution, the accused have indulged in “anti-nation activities” and therefore no advocate member of the association would appear on their behalf.
This is, however, not the first case where a Bar Association has passed a resolution asking its members to abstain from appearing on behalf of a particular person(s). Most recently, the Mysuru Bar Association passed a resolution; it was of a similar kind whereby the Bar Association requested all its members not to appear for Nalini Balakumar, who was also charged with sedition under Section 124A of the IPC, for holding “free Kashmir” placard during a Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 protest.
Edited by J. Madonna Jephi
Approved & Published – Sakshi Raje
Reference
- Bar and Bench, https://www.barandbench.com/news/hubli-bar-association-passes-resolution-to-not-represent-kashmiri-students (last visited 18th February, 2020, 1:48 PM)
