Let’s move on, judge tells police officers, lawyers on 2009 Madras High Court violence

CHENNAI: Noting that it was time to forget and move on, the Madras High Court ordered the quashing of the cases registered against police personnel and advocates in connection with the violent clash that took place at the High Court premises in 2009.

In 2009, when senior politician Subramanian Swamy arrived at the Madras High Court in connection with the hearing of a case, a few advocates attempted to attack him. When the police personnel deployed in the court campus arrested some lawyers in connection with the incident, a clash erupted between the police and the advocates, which escalated into a riot-like situation.

The clash, which occurred on February 19, 2009, resulted in advocates and even judges being assaulted by the police. The news videos that captured the situation showed the personnel damaging dozens of vehicles parked inside the High Court campus, including those of the public who came there for hearings, while the police station inside the premises was set on fire.

Following the High Court's direction, the CBI registered a case regarding the incident. Advocate Rajinikanth and 28 other lawyers, along with four police officials, filed petitions in the High Court seeking to quash the case pending before the Egmore court.

Hearing the petitions, Justice M Nirmal Kumar recalled personally witnessing everything that happened during the clash on that day, as he was a practising lawyer at that time.

After hearing the arguments, the judge quashed the cases registered against the police personnel and advocates pertaining to the clash. He stated that it was time to forget the incident and move forward.