Judicial panel to probe mediapersons-lawyers issue in Kerala

The Kerala government today decided to appoint a judicial commission to probe the issue between mediapersons and lawyers that led to police baton charge in front of the high court on July 20.
A decision in this regard was taken at a cabinet meeting held here, an official release said.
Justice (Retd) P A Muhammed will look into the circumstances that led to police action in front of north gate of the high court.
The Commission was appointed under Commission of Inquiry Act 1952.
The retired judge was made the Commission of Inquiry as the high court had informed the governmentthat it cannot spare the service of a sitting judge, the release said.

Media personnel are not being allowed to cover high court and other court proceedings since July 19 after a group of lawyers chased them away, angered over a media report about a government pleader allegedly misbehaving with a woman.
On October 15, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had said there is no bar on journalists reporting court proceedings and had called the action of some lawyers obstructing reporting as unacceptable and that his government would take action against those violating the law.
Assembly Speaker P Sreeramakrishnan had sought the intervention of the Chief Justice to ensure freedom for mediapersons to report court proceedings in the state.