The functioning of the Andhra Pradesh High Court was affected to a large extent for the second consecutive day on Wednesday as pro-Telangana advocates went on the rampage to enforce a boycott call in support of an indefinite hunger strike by three lawyers.
Convenor of the Telangana advocates JAC S. Satyam Reddy and two others, G. Jyothi Kiran and Vijay Kumar Goud, are on a fast since Monday near the office of the Advocate-General demanding 42 per cent quota in judicial posts and resignation of Advocate-General D.V. Seetharama Murthy. The vandalism occurred in spite of the presence of a huge police force that ringed the court complex.
To prevent judicial proceedings, a large group of slogan-shouting advocates attacked two court halls — one presided by a Division Bench comprising Justices V. Eashwaraiah and Naushad Ali and the other by Justice Nooty Rama Mohana Rao — even as the judges were on the Benches.
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The mob smashed racks, tubelights and glass panes in the two court halls.
Appeals in vain
A cause list was flung at Justice Eashwaraiah, who kept appealing to the intruders to observe restraint and talk it out to resolve the issue. An air-conditioner was also damaged.
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In the court of Justice Rama Mohana Rao, the group used foul language and indulged in vandalism. Court attenders protected the judges from getting hit by books but one of them landed on the court officer. Justice Rao remained a silent spectator throughout the episode and suspended the court after the crowd left.
An attempt to storm the court of Justice C.V. Nagarjuna Reddy, which was targeted on Tuesday too, was thwarted by policemen who closed the door in the pathway.
The worst attack was, however, seen in the chambers of Registrar-General S. Sivaiah Naidu in his absence. Two chairs were thrown on his empty seat, a desk top computer and its printer were broken and phones strewn on the floor as the terrified staff rushed out.
Correction
The news report, “Telangana lawyers go on the rampage in court” (September 16, 2010), referred to pro-Telangana advocates going on a fast demanding 42 per cent quota in judicial posts. They are law officers' posts and not judicial posts.