Former CJ of Bombay HC condemns Patiala House court attack

Former Chief Justice of Bombay High Court Chandrashekhar Dharmadhikari today condemned the attack on students and journalists by advocates in the Patiala House court premises.

"Lawyers have a noble profession but only the profession has stayed noble while the professionals have changed," he said on the sidelines of the Sahitya Akademi's 'Samvatsar' lecture organised as part of its annual Festival of Letters.

Asked about the students' protest at JNU, he said, "we shouldn't term a youngster as terrorist, we must try to understand his pain before labelling him or her a terrorist."

"It is very easy to label someone as a terrorist before knowing anything about him or her," the former judge said.
 

Dharmadhikari, a distinguished jurist and eminent Gandhi scholar, in his keynote address, expressed concern over the "fast vanishing" value systems in societies while shedding light on the problems that accompany the "modern and industrialised" lifestyle.

He also said that the growing impact of technology on human lives is to an extent that, "instead of us using technology, it is technology that is driving us and bringing home many a new illnesses".

In September 2014, Dharmadhikari had headed the state-appointed committee which recommended a "complete ban on bar girls in hotels and restaurants" in Maharashtra. His committee had also suggested to put restrictions on social media.