CJI intervenes after lawyers detained near Supreme Court

Chief Justice of India Surya Kant intervened on October 10 after lawyers were detained near the Supreme Court in New Delhi, and later said he believed they had been released. Supreme Court Bar Association officials also said the detained lawyers were released, following requests for urgent intervention from the association and other legal representatives. The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) said it had been informed that advocates, including senior lawyers and women, were detained while protesting in the Supreme Court area. Reports put the number at about 50 to 60, though no precise tally was established in the material reviewed. In a resolution and a letter to Surya Kant, SCBA honorary secretary Pragya Baghel asked him to establish the detainees’ whereabouts and safety, ensure access to legal assistance and secure the release of anyone held without lawful grounds. The association also asked that the circumstances of the detentions and reported use of force be examined. Those claims about force were presented by the association and were not independently established in the supplied accounts.