A CBI team working on the case unearthed appalling facts in a month’s time. Over 400 lawyers face criminal cases, including murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping and land-grabbing.
Advocates with a tainted past in Uttar Pradesh (UP) are a scared lot nowadays.
The UP Police, the central bureau of investigation (CBI) and the income-tax department (I-T) have suddenly turned the heat on them.
Sources say a series of CBI and I-T raids against these elements are in the offing.
The stringent action follows a recent order of the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court directing CBI to collar legal eagles with a chequered past.
The court order came in response to a petition by advocate Prashant Gaur who was assaulted by a group of fellow advocates in the civil court premises on September 29. In his petition, Gaur had prayed for a thorough investigation to cull the black sheep in the legal profession.
A CBI team headed by joint director OP Galhotra went to work on the case, and what it has unearthed in a month’s time has appalled many in the “noble” profession itself.
“Some advocates with criminal antecedents have been virtually functioning as gangs, insulting and assaulting anyone who dares to oppose them,” a CBI officer involved in the investigation says on promise of anonymity.
“Till now, they have evaded direct action… whenever any action is taken against them, they strike work, resort to violence or disrupt traffic,” he says. The official admits it is ironical that for the first time, such advocates are facing the wrath of the court.
Of the 12,000-odd advocates registered with the Bar Council of UP at Lucknow, more than 400 have criminal cases pending against them. These include murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping and an impressive number of land-grab cases. About a hundred advocates have two or more criminal cases against their names in the list CBI has presented before the court after a preliminary inquiry, the sources say.
CBI has registered 11 FIRs so far to press criminal charges against such advocates. The UP Bar Council is also cooperating in the probe.
“We have submitted an affidavit before the court that we support this move to cleanse the legal profession. We have also suggested ways to improve the credibility and image of the community of lawyers,” senior advocate IB Singh, who appeared in court on behalf of the UP Bar Council, said.
The high court has even directed the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and heads of central paramilitary forces to offer all assistance in unearthing evidence against the “black sheep” in the legal profession.
The attorney-general of India has also been asked to form a committee under a retired Supreme Court judge to probe the matter. The high court has also taken the state’s CID (crime branch) and the state law department in the loop for a thorough purge.
A CBI official told DNA that while the initial phase of the inquiry focussed on criminal charges, CBI’s special investigation team formed for the purpose would now look into the sources of income of the tainted advocates.
He said CBI had also received tip-offs that some of them held fake law degrees. The I-T department is also reported to be readying for a crackdown on these advocates.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}