'Apology not enough', Kerala HC orders 28 lawyers to offer free legal services for 6 months

Kochi: In a significant ruling, the Kerala High Court has ordered 28 lawyers of the Kottayam Bar Association to offer legal aid services for six months to get relief from contempt of court proceedings, stating that mere apologies will not suffice.

The lawyers came under the high court scanner for raising 'abusive' slogans against a Chief Judicial Magistrate inside the court in Kottayam last year.

When the high court started proceedings the erring lawyers, 28 of them offered to apologise unconditionally.

“This court is of the view that the respondents ought not to be allowed to get away by merely offering 'sorry' by way of an apology as the easiest way," the court noted, as it pointed out that the 28 lawyers should provide free legal services to the poor and needy as a remedial measure.

The lawyers said they would do so provided it did not affect their right to practice law.

"Given the peculiar facts of this case, we deem it appropriate to accept the unconditional apologies tendered by respondents 2 to 29 and purge the contempt committed by them based on the undertaking that they shall offer their services to the District Legal Services Authority, Kottayam, for free to the poor and needy for a period of six months," the court said, adding that these lawyers can go forward with their regular law career.

The incident occurred in November last year when a group of advocates entered the courtroom of Kottayam CJM Viveeja Sethumohan and raised slogans against her over her alleged conduct with the lawyers and to protest against the registration of a forgery case against one of them.

After receiving a report on the incident, the Kerala High Court issued contempt notices to the erring lawyers.