Kerala lawyers pass resolution to ban media from courts, boycott newspapers

The ongoing standoff between the lawyer fraternity and media persons in Kerala took another turn on Friday, with the Ernakulam bar association maintaining that journalists should not be allowed in district court premises until the issue gets resolved.

According to a report in The Times of India, the resolution passed by the bar association asks the district judge to allow only accredited media persons inside the court.

The lawyers said that there should come a system wherein the court will grant accreditation to journalists who cover court proceedings, and not any media organization.

The resolution also states that the lawyers mustn’t appear on behalf of media persons and that the lawyer fraternity will boycott newspapers from Saturday.

As for those lawyers against whom cases have been filed for allegedly attacking media persons, the association has extended them full support. A three-member panel has been formulated to provide legal defence for the lawyers.

A panel of five lawyers will be constituted to convey the “real facts” about the lawyer-media spat to the public, the resolution said.