The NRI-SAHI (Non-Resident Indians for a Secular and Harmonious India based in Michigan, USA) has strongly condemned the brutal attack on Advocate Mohammad Shakeel, who was defending the innocent terror accused Khalid Mujahid in Faizabad court. In a statement on 23 May the NRI-SAHI said:
“We in the NRI-SAHI condemn and denounce attack on one lawyer with iron rods and destruction of chambers of other lawyers by 50 lawyers of the Faizabad Bar in Faizabad court house in strongest terms.
“We strongly condemn these lawyers for turning law practice from an honourable profession defending criminals in courts to mob rule where politics prevails and not the rule of law.
“We ask the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh to take strongest legal action against these 50 lawyers. We ask they should be convicted for these terrorist acts and they should be removed from practising the law.
“In a civilized society it is the duty of lawyers to defend alleged criminals. It is the duty of courts to judge and either to convict or to release the defendant for the alleged crime; and it is duty of the police to produce verifiable and substantive evidence to prosecute the case.
“It is evident from the Tehelka report of April 26, 2008, “When the lawyers turn judges” that lawyers in UP are politicised. They are not honouring the profession of law when they refuse to accept cases for alleged terrorists but they also forcibly prevent and attack other lawyers from accepting those cases. We in the NRI SAHI condemn this behaviour….”
The statement signed by Messrs ShrikumarPoddar, George Abraham, ShaheenKhateeb and Mohammad Imranasked the Bar Associations in Uttar Pradesh “to honour their own codes of ethics to defend any and all persons who are accused of crime and to remove those who do not follow the codes either in spirit or in letter.”