Court Furious After Lawyer Threatens Suicide If They Rule Against Him
Justices demand written apology. The post Court Furious After Lawyer Threatens Suicide If They Rule Against Him appeared first on Above the Law.
National Lampoon once put a gun to the head of a dog and declared “If You Don’t Buy This Magazine, We’ll Kill This Dog.” A stroke of genius for a humor magazine in the 1970s — it was named the 7th best magazine cover of all time — it proved a less effective legal tactic in the 2020s.
A lawyer appearing before the Supreme Court of India told the justices that he’d kill himself if they did not grant his petition in a criminal case.
“How can you threaten the court that you will commit suicide if we don’t allow your prayer? You are a lawyer. We will ask the Bar Council to suspend your license and register an FIR,” said the bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan.
The court asked the lawyer to submit a written apology by March 7 or face consequences.
The lawyer’s suicide threat came in connection with a petition — Ramesh Kumaran and another v. State. The petitioner Ramesh Kumaran, a member of the Bar, appearing on video conference, said if the police case against respondent number 2 is cancelled, he would commit suicide.
The attorney ultimately confessed that the remark, made during a teleconference hearing, was the result of getting “emotional.” But the justices still want a written apology anyway. Threatening violence — against yourself or others — is still a threat, which makes this intimidation not advocacy. And if it was just a poor attempt at humor it trivializes mental health for the purpose of litigation strategy.
In either event, the Court wants the apology in writing to send a clear message that they’re not going to tolerate these sorts of threats. A message they apparently need to send because this has happened before.
A similar incident took place last year before a bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna, Sanjay Kumar, and R. Mahadevan.
What is going on in India? Can’t you just threaten to stop funding the Supreme Court justices’ luxury vacations under the table like we do?
Supreme Court Seeks Written Apology As Lawyer Threatens Suicide [NDTV]
Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter or Bluesky if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.
The post Court Furious After Lawyer Threatens Suicide If They Rule Against Him appeared first on Above the Law.
