Chief Minister DV Sadananda Gowda’s mediation to broker peace between lawyers and mediapersons began on an optimistic note on Tuesday, with the lawyers agreeing to withdraw the indefinite boycott of courts and mediapersons accepting the suggestion to shift the CBI court and Lok Ayukta special court from the city civil court complex to the Parappana Agrahara jail premises.

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Gowda, law and parliamentary affairs minister Suresh Kumar, Home Minister R Ashoka and Chief Secretary SV Ranganath held separate talks with delegations of lawyers and mediapersons to end the standoff between the media and legal fraternity.

He appealed to advocates to end the indefinite boycott, which had affected litigants. Senior advocates assured the chief minister of ending their agitation on Wednesday.

The media succeeded in evolving a consensus in resolving some of the issues. However, talks would continue over the next few days. Media representatives have been advised to keep away from court premises till Saturday to enable the talks to continue smoothly.

The media and the advocates have accepted the proposal to shift the CBI court and Lok Ayukta special court from the city civil court complex. It was also agreed upon to provide separate space for mediapersons on court premises.

However, there is a long way to go before cultivating a cordial relationship between the lawyers and the media, as both camps made allegations of planned attack against each other during the March 2 violence.

While the media delegation expressed its displeasure at the delay in arresting lawyers against whom video evidence is available, the lawyers presented photos and CDs, showing alleged assault of lawyers by the media and police personnel.

Assuring strict action, the chief minister announced an in-house probe into the incident by DGP (CID) RK Dutta. This would be apart from the judicial inquiry already ordered by the state government.