National   

No lawyer can refuse to defend an accused, says Jethmalani

New Delhi: With certain lawyer bodies declining to take up the case of Mohammad Ajmal Amir, the lone militant arrested in the Mumbai terror attacks, eminent lawyer Ram Jethmalani on Sunday maintained that no lawyer had the right to say he would not defend an accused.

“There is the express rule of the Bar Council of India that no lawyer shall refuse to defend a person on the grounds that it will make him unpopular,” Mr. Jethmalani told CNN-IBN .

“That is something that should never worry a lawyer. No lawyer worth the name should even talk about this kind of a thing,” Mr. Jethmalani said and asked the legal community not to worry about peer criticism while taking up such cases. — PTI

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

“I saw the taxi burning but didn’t think it was my husband’s”
Sharad Yadav made NDA acting convener
4 held in VHP leader’s murder case
Sonia, Gehlot discuss Cabinet formation
Parliamentary panel pulls up AICTE
Pranab: polls as scheduled
Hyderabad the “hub” of home-grown militants
CRPF breaks open lock to return to camp
Law panel says ‘no’ to making Hindi official court language
No lawyer can refuse to defend an accused, says Jethmalani
Fake currency racket busted, three held in Jammu
Businessmen abducted in Nagaland
New political outfit formed
“Congress ensured free and fair polls in J&K”
Girl commits suicide
NCP meeting deferred
Terror victims try to get on with life
Railway exams put off after paper leak
Senior Congress leader decides to join Trinamool

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu