Panel to find ways to avoid cop-lawyer fights

CUTTACK: The committee set up in pursuance of the Orissa high court order to suggest ways of preventing the recurrence of police-lawyer conflict will consider proposals related to the issue on March 1.
The committee will give suggestions to check the recurrence of the kind of conflict that had led to a strike by lawyers lasting 78 days last year. The incident related to the alleged assault on a high court lawyer – Debi Prasad Pattnaik — by police near the fish market at Nuabazar on August 28, 2018.The high court lawyers had gone on strike to demand the arrest of all the personnel involved in the fracas.
The state government had constituted the committee with justice A S Naidu, a retired judge of the high court, as the chairman and nine other members. The home department had issued a communication to the members on February 13 seeking a meeting of the committee at 6.30 pm at Circuit House here on Friday. Accordingly, some participating members came up with proposals at the meeting held under the chairmanship of justice Naidu.
“Taking note of these, justice Naidu asked for submission of written notes of the proposals when the committee meets again on March 1,” High Court Bar Association secretary Satyabrata Mohanty said on Saturday.
Mohanty is one the members of the committee, which also includes principal secretary (law) Sashikanta Mishra, DGP R P Sharma, commissioner Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Satyajit Mohanty, IGP (headquarters) Asit Panigrahi, president of High Court Bar Association, Nirmal Chandra Panigrahi (senior advocate), Sourjya Kanta Padhi (senior advocate) and Debi Prasad Dhal (advocate).
Sources said DGP Sharma said in the meeting that a guideline would be prepared on the basis of the Police Conduct Rules to keep control on the functioning of police personnel. Mohanty on the other hand said there was a need for a policy to prevent police-lawyer conflict.