Bihari stays away from HC ceremony

Twenty-one students from Gopaldas Advani Law College, along with 55 police officers, were felicitated by the Legal Services Committee of Bombay High Court on Tuesday.

They were awarded certificates by Chief Justice Swa-tanter Kumar for their active participation in the legal aid awareness programme conducted last March in Meghwadi slum area, Jogeshwari.

However, conspicuous by his absence was deputy inspector general (DIG) Bipin Bihari. Speculations were rife that Bihari, who had attended the programme as additional commissioner of police (west), opted out of the ceremony as he was uneasy about his name cropping up in the RR Chaturvedi case.

The ceremony ended with a congratulatory note for the cops and the students. HC judges, including Justice JN Patel, Justice S Radhakrishnan, Justice Ranjana Desai and Justice Abhay Oka, attended the ceremony. Joint commissioner of police (law and order) KL Prasad too was present.

Chief Justice Kumar said, “If we fail to educate our society about what rights they can avail of and what protection they are entitled to, the concept of socialism in our democracy would remain unachieved.” Patting the cops on the back, Justice JN Patel said, “It is heartening to know that the (police) force has a few good men.”