Law students demand action against gang rape defence lawyers

A Bangalore-based lawyer together with Delhi law students will demand from the Bar Council of India (BCI) action against the defence lawyers of the December 16 gang rape convicts for their controversial remarks in a BBC documentary, a statement said on Tuesday.

Raghul Sudheesh, a law journalist and lawyer from Bangalore, will march on Thursday with Delhi law students to the BCI to submit their online petition for action against defence lawyers M.L. Sharma and A.P. Singh for their misogynistic comments in the BBC documentary "India's Daughter".

The petition will be delivered just two days before the Bar Council sub-committee is set to meet to discuss the complaint against the two defence lawyers.

"The petition hosted on Change.org went viral and has got over 1,90,000 signatures in less than 3 weeks," said the statement.

Sudheesh said: "The thought to do something about Sharma's and Singh's derogatory statements came quite naturally."

He added that their statements insulted the victim and womanhood. It has lowered the dignity of the legal profession.

"I will ensure that BCI takes strict action," he said.

The statement said that Sudheesh will meet BCI chairman Manan Kumar Mishra and request him to amend council rules over derogatory remarks made by lawyers representing sensitive cases, including offences against women.

Outrage over the defence lawyers' remarks led to the Bar Council taking suo motu action and issuing show cause notices to both defence lawyers.