Arrest of lawyers in civil case triggers protests in Chennai

Chennai: The arrest of at least seven lawyers, with seven more approaching Madras high court seeking anticipatory bail apprehending arrest by Tambaram police in connection with a big-ticket civil case, has triggered unrest among the legal fraternity.

Already, top associations, including the Federation of Advocates Associations of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, Madras High Court Advocates Association (MHAA) and other associations in Tambaram, George Town and the neighbouring districts have held demonstrations protesting the targeting of lawyers by the Tambaram police, that too in a civil dispute where suits are pending in different courts.

So far seven arrested lawyers have been released on bail, but not before they completed the first remand period of 14 days in jail. The anticipatory bail pleas of seven more are pending before Justice Sunder Mohan. The case relates to an eight-storeyed building at Karapakkam on Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR), purchased by the Revanza Leasing India Private Limited after the original promoter Marg Limited defaulted on a Rs 72-crore loan from Standard Chartered Bank.

As the bank agreed for a one-time settlement of Rs 32.5 crore before March 31, 2023, Marg approached one Sushil Lalwani of Revanza, and he completed the transaction by taking a loan from Hinduja Leyland Finance Limited. After the Lawanis took possession of the property and while the renovation was on, Marg initiated a couple of suits, first one in a Chengalpet court and the next one in Sholinganallur.

After the Sholinganallur court’s ruling, when lawyers representing the Lalwanis went to the premises, they were confronted by a gang of about 60 people, triggering a spate of complaints from the advocates. Though there were six complaints between August 24, 2024 and March 2025, the Kannagi Nagar police gave CSR for only one complaint. On the other hand, they started to identify and arrest the lawyers on the basis of complaints from the other side, triggering an outcry among the associations.

“Targeting lawyers representing one side of the litigant, that too without even acknowledging receipt of their complaints, is unfair,” said N Marappan, chairman of the federation, which is the umbrella body for all lawyers’ associations in Tamil Nadu.