Bandra Bar Association exposes ‘nexus’ between police, some advocates

In a groundbreaking complaint exposing alleged connections between court karkoons police constables deployed at court from respective police stations and practising advocates the Bar Association of Bandra lodged an official complaint addressed to five Metropolitan Magistrates including the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate of Bandra Metropolitan Court on July 15Remarkably the complaint copy was also sent to the Zonal Deputy Commissioner of Police Zone VIII and Zone IX as the police stations under their jurisdiction fall under the ambit of the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court Bandra E Taking serious cognizance of the complaint made by the Bar Association the office of the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate court has written a letter to DCP Zone IX directing to take appropriate actionAdvocate Rammani G Upadhyay President of the Bar Association of Bandra confirmed the authenticity of the letter and the concerns raised According to Upadhyay ldquoThe bar association had received numerous complaints from its member advocates practising at the Bandra court which highlighted a nexus between the court karkoons detection staff and a select group of advocates This alliance supposedly cooperates to recommend accused individuals to the said advocates who then represent them in bail remand and routine trial cases in exchange for alleged graft and kickbacksrdquoThe eightpage letter emphasises that due to this nexus between court karkoons detection officers and specific practising advocates at the Bandra court other advocates are losing out on their source of livelihood The bar association comprises around 1200 practising advocates at Metropolitan Magistrate Court Bandra with only a handful allegedly participating in this collusion as alleged by Advocate UpadhyayAdvocate Upadhyay explained ldquoAdvocates do not receive any salary or assistance from the state It takes years for them to establish themselves and newcomers face difficulties in getting work and for them remand and bail is the initial source of incomerdquoAdvocate Upadhyay details how some police officers influence the accused or suspects in their custody directing them and their relatives to approach particular advocates for seeking bail or remand Subsequently the accusedrsquos family feels compelled to comply with the policersquos directions and in return the concerned advocate is required to share a percentage of the fees collected with the court karkoon or police as per their preagreed rate alleged UpadhyayAdvocate Upadhyay emphasised that such practices are detrimental to the very essence of the Advocates Act and Article 21 of the Indian Constitution He also urged the court to take cognisance of the issue and use its powers to curb such malpractices Moreover the letter suggests scrutinising the posting of police karkoons and detection officers for prolonged periods as it might contribute to these illegal activitiesThe letter further alleged another corrupt practice by police karkoons involving filing chargesheets on a preferential basis Advocates who purportedly pay money to these officers reportedly have their chargesheets filed with preference Advocate Upadhyay called for streamlining the filing of chargesheets to prevent such practicesWay outldquoThe way forward is clear for this honourable court to acknowledge the material facts that only specific advocates appear in remand and bail hearings undermining the ethical and loyal principles of the noble profession of advocacy The court has the authority to address this serious issue curbing such malpractices by directing the concerned deputy commissioner of police and senior inspector of police to take necessary actions against police karkoons detection officers and other police personnel involvedrdquo said the bar association presidentWhat nextWhen asked if he had received any response to his complaint advocate Upadhyay said he had not yet received a reply and planned to wait a few more days If no response is received he intends to write to the commissioner of police and may even file a writ petition on behalf of the bar association if corrective actions are not taken promptlyOther sideWhile senior police officials whom midday spoke to could not provide an immediate comment without reviewing the contents of the complaint they assured they would look into the matter acknowledging its seriousnessCourt directs to take cognizance of the complaintThe Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Bandra has taken serious cognizance of the complaint made by the Bar Association of Bandra and his office has written to DCP Zone IX asking him to take appropriate action pertaining to the complaint received from Bar Association The letter was also marked to Khar and Mahim Police station and also a copy was sent to the association1200No of practising advocates at Bandra court