The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) on Wednesday condemned the alleged ransacking of the house and office of a lawyer in Manipur.
In its resolution, the lawyers’ body took “serious notice” of news reports claiming vandalism by a mob at the premises of Soraisham Chittaranjan, a Meitei lawyer representing a Kuki academic in the Manipur High Court, and underscored that lawyers are free to appear for any litigant.
“The Supreme Court Bar Association has taken serious notice of news reports which have stated that the house and office of Mr. Soraisham Chittaranjan, an advocate in Manipur, have been ransacked by some persons because he was representing his client in the capacity of being his advocate,” the resolution said.
The SCBA “underlines that lawyers are free to appear for any litigant. Any attempt by any person to intimidate lawyers into not appearing for any party has the effect of interfering in the administration of justice and needs to be condemned in the strongest possible manner,” stated the resolution.
The resolution declared that the SCBA stood in solidarity with Chittaranjan and urged the State as well as the Manipur Police to provide adequate protection to the lawyer and take immediate effective action against the guilty.
