Karnataka High Court initiates suo motu PIL on violence against advocates

The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday took up a suo motu PIL petition on the spate of violence against lawyers in the state, including the October 9 and October 18 murders of advocates Sriram V and Manjunath and the October 28 attempted murder of Gauribidanur-based advocate Venkataramanappa Sannakki.

A Division Bench of DK Singh and H Shanthi Bhushan was acting on the representation of the Bengaluru Bar Association and the Karnataka State Bar Council, which had highlighted the increasing number of cases of violence, assaults, threats and murders of lawyers.

The bench took cognizance of the serious complaints raised by the association against the functioning of the police, alleging that the police stations were acting as “parallel courts” by settling civil disputes – property, property and contractual matters – without statutory jurisdiction, in violation of Supreme Court judgments, and alleged disrespectful treatment of lawyers at police stations, including not even being offered a chair.

While ordering the issuance of notice to the state government, the Bench directed the government to record the measures proposed to strengthen the statutory protection available to advocates and the intended mechanism for redressal of complaints filed by advocates against police personnel.

The bench also sought detailed information about each murdered advocate in the state, including details of FIR, arrest, material collected, charge status and reasons for delay.

Published – 03 Nov 2026 23:32 IST