JNU row: SC agrees to consider plea for action against lawyers

Three lawyers have "bragged and boasted" in a sting operation that next time they will bring petrol bombs and were even ready to go to the jail to beat Kanhaiya Kumar in his cell.

New Delhi; The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to consider a plea seeking contempt action against three lawyers allegedly caught on camera bragging and boasting that they had beaten up JNUSU President Kanhaiya Kumar in police lock-up for three hours at the Patiala House Court complex here.

"This allegation has been never made before us. This is a new allegation which has come up. You file an appropriate petition and we will consider it," a bench comprising Justice J Chelameswar and Justice AM Sapre said after a plea for contempt action against these lawyers was mentioned before it.

Advocate Prashant Bhushan said the three lawyers who were allegedly involved in violence at Patiala House Court Complex on February 15 and 17 had conceded in a sting operation aired by some news channels that they had beaten up the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union (JNUSU) President.

"These three lawyers were at the forefront during the violent incidents at Patiala House Court Complex on February 15 and 17. They had conceded in a sting operations aired by two news channels yesterday that they had beaten up Kanhaiya Kumar," Bhushan said.

He said these lawyers have "bragged and boasted" in the sting operation that next time they will bring petrol bombs and were even ready to go to the jail to beat Kumar in his cell.

"These bragging and boasting by the lawyers is trampling the rule of law. It's high time that the Supreme Court takes suo motu notice of the matter and issue contempt notice against these lawyers," Bhushan said.

To this, the bench asked Bhushan whether anybody has lodged a case against the three lawyers or has Kanhaiya Kumar accepted that they had beaten him in the police lock-up.

Bhushan, while replying to the query, alleged that police was complacent about lodging any complaint regarding the violence in Patiala House and even Kumar has not said anything about any such incident.

Senior advocate Indira Jaising, appearing for the petitioner ND Jaya Prakash, submitted that a report of National Human Rights Commission has said that Kumar was being terrorised by the lawyers.

She said there was a genuine threat perception to the accused and his security and safety needs to be ensured.

The bench then said it will look into the matter after a proper application is filed.