Kerala government has decided not to take a specific position on the findings of the inquiry commission that went into the incidents that led to the police lathicharge following clashes between lawyers and media persons in front of the Kerala High Court on July 20, 2016.
The commission was headed by the late P. A. Mohammed, former judge of the Kerala High Court. It had submitted the report before the government on June 30, 2020.
The government opted not to take any specific stance as the cases registered by the police in connection with the incident were at various stages. However, the Additional Chief Secretary, Home and Secretary, Law Departments were entrusted to examine and implement the committee recommendations to avoid such incidents in the future, according to the action taken report published on August 9. The inquiry report was also tabled before the Assembly.
The confrontation between the lawyers and the media persons started after a government pleader was arrested in Kochi for alleged molestation on July 14, 2016. The lawyers allegedly manhandled a reporter after they accused him of inaccurate reportage of the case and its related developments. The stand-off worsened after the lawyers allegedly manhandled reporters covering the High Court proceedings and asked them to leave the premises. Both media persons and lawyers were injured in the clashes that later spilled on to the streets and other courts.
The commission found that there was no occasion for the police to resort to lathicharge. The lawyers had sustained injuries owing to the action taken by the police. The media persons had not received permission from the police to organise a march to the High Court. However, the quantity of force exercised by the police has to be determined only by an expert body at the stage of investigation or trial, it said.
The commission stated that separate discussions were not required on whether the police action was caused by the provocations caused by either the media persons or the lawyers as the criminal cases taken against them were pending investigation. It also refrained from going into the incidents that happened outside the media room located on the fourth floor of the Kerala High Court saying that it lacked the authority to investigate it.
