Assault on lawyer: Kerala high court denies anticipatory bail to nine accused

Kochi: High court has denied anticipatory bail to nine accused in a case registered at Koduvally police station in Kozhikode, in which they allegedly assaulted an advocate for drafting a complaint against them.Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas dismissed the pre-arrest bail pleas by Riyas, O P Yoosuf, V K Faisal, V P Sahir Ali, V P Ashiq, P M Sonu Rajeev, V P Raheesurahman, Muhammed Ashraf and E Nidheesh — all natives of Narikkuni in Kozhikode — observing that assaulting an advocate for preparing a complaint cannot be viewed lightly. HC further observed that the fundamental right of access to courts is largely facilitated through advocates, and if advocates are attacked for drafting complaints, the rule of law will suffer.According to the prosecution, the petitioners brutally attacked Asif Rahman, a lawyer from Narikkuni, at 10pm on April 29 while he was travelling on his motorcycle. The attack was allegedly motivated by the fact that the advocate had drafted a complaint against the petitioners, local political leaders, on behalf of his client. The petitioners, however, contended that the complaint was false and that no such incident had taken place.The prosecution strongly opposed the pre-arrest bail applications, arguing that the allegations were serious and that the victim had sustained grievous injuries, including chest trauma with a fracture and a fractured vertebra, allegedly caused by dangerous weapons. It was further submitted that custodial interrogation was necessary, particularly for the recovery of the weapon used in the offence. Taking into account the gravity of the allegations and the requirement of custodial investigation, HC dismissed the bail applications.