On November 23, 2023, a group of about 200 advocates entered the courtroom of the Kottayam CJM Viveeja Sethumohan and shouted slogans against her over her alleged conduct with lawyers and to protest the registration of a forgery case against a lawyer.
The unruly behaviour was triggered by the registration of a criminal case against a fellow lawyer, advocate MP Navab, based on a complaint by a court officer accusing the lawyer of forgery.
The sloganeering lawyers managed to halt the proceedings before CJM Sethumohan who proceeded to record the chaotic events in an order.
The protests spanned the entire corridor of the court complex and according to the magistrate’s order, there were a few persons with cameras recording the protest as well. The videos of the protest were also widely shared on WhatsApp within hours.
The order added that the videographers recorded court proceedings. When the police aid at the court tried to intervene, the advocates turned against them as well, interrupting proceedings for 5 to 8 minutes, the order noted.
Upon receiving a report on the incident, the Kerala High Court issued contempt notices to 29 lawyers who appeared through their counsel, save for one lawyer, advocate Sojan Pavanios who appeared in person.
All the lawyers except for Pavanios later tendered apologies in the matter, which have now been accepted by the Court on the condition that they provide free legal aid for six months.
Source: Barandbench
