Kerala Law Minister AK Balan, on Sunday, expressed concern about tensions between media persons and lawyers in the state, that refuse to be dissolved.
On Friday, lawyers attacked four journalists in Vanchiyoor court in Thiruvananthapuram.
His words come a day after Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan lashed out at lawyers for manhandling journalists. Pinarayi Vijayan had said that courts were not the private properties of the lawyers and that they cannot decide who will enter the premises.
Speaking to reporters in Kozhikode, Minister Balan assured them that the government would take measures to ensure that media persons are allowed to do their jobs without having to face intimidation.
Stating that judges were responsible for resolving crises within court premises, AK Balan said that the lawyers were making a mockery of the judiciary.
He added that it was a serious matter that attacks on journalists still continue, despite the Chief Minister, the Chief Justice and the Governor asking for the matter to be resolved.
“This issue can be sorted out in a matter of one day. The panchayat president is liable to sort out issues in the panchayat. The assembly speaker is supposed to maintain peace within the assembly. Likewise, it is the responsibility of the judges to ensure that there is no crisis within the court premises,” the minister said.
Balan said that it was a matter of shame for the judiciary and the democratic system of the country, that the court, which holds the power of capital punishment, is not able to sort out a quarrel between lawyers and media persons.
Meanwhile, the police registered a case on Sunday against three more lawyers in connection with the attack on Friday, on charges of outraging the modesty of women.
On Saturday, the police had registered a case against 5 lawyers based on the complaint of a senior journalist with The New Indian Express for manhandling them.
However, the police did not register a case based on a complaint by women journalists who were also forced out of the court until Sunday morning.