Finally cracking the whip against persistent disruption of the Andhra Pradesh High Court functioning, the authorities posted a huge police force around the court complex on Friday thwarting attempts by pro-Telangana advocates to repeat the incidents of the past few days.
All the gates of the High Court were closed and strong pickets posted to restrict entry into the premises. At the lone entrance near the parking lot for advocates and litigants, officials thoroughly checked people seeking entry, by examining ID cards and verifying whether their names figured in the cause lists of courts.
The restrictions embarrassed quite a few senior advocates, significantly the High Court Advocates Association president D. Prakash Reddy, who was barred entry as his name did not figure in the cause list. Mr. Reddy argued with the police officials that there was no way his name would find way into the cause list because senior counsel could argue cases on behalf of anyone.
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As Mr. Reddy’s argument was not heeded, he staged a protest sitting in his car till the end of court hours and lodging a complaint with Chief Justice Nisar Ahmed Kakru later.
Around 1 p.m., advocates from various city courts arrived in large numbers and tried to force their way through a narrow entrance at the sprawling parking lot where the police kept a tight vigil. In a scuffle that ensued, a Sub-Inspector of Madannapet police station K. Ravi Kumar suffered a head injury caused by the removal of a barricade.
Police pushed back the surging advocates in the see-saw battle and removed them from the scene in waiting vans. The advocates also tried in vain to detain the vans. Subsequently, a handful of students of Osmania University also attempted to barge into the High Court, but they were soon picked up.
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Modify order
Meanwhile, a Division Bench comprising Justices V. Eshwaraiah and Noushad Ali, which itself was targeted by the agitators on Wednesday, began a hearing into the unruly incidents. The court also heard complaints like the one made by Mr. Prakash Reddy and modified its judicial order on restricting entry to advocates. The court is treating the incidents as a “taken up” case and has asked respondents to file counter on Monday.