Bar Association: Lawyer-Administered Beatings May Be Unethical

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In India on Wednesday, the Agra Bar Association said it would be looking into the details of an attack by several lawyers on a litigant there.  According to reports, the lawyers claim that the man refused to marry the niece of one of the lawyers, a dispute that (for reasons that were not clear to me) ended up in court.  Actually, I guess it ended up out of court, because when the man arrived to discuss settlement, the lawyers instead grabbed him, tied him to a tree, tore off his shirt and cut various bald patches into his hair.

For a closing argument, they also beat him up.

Indian TV channels have been running video of the lawyer gang’s assault on the stubborn bachelor, and a local official says he has ordered police to file a case.  According to the report, the local bar association has said it is also "investigating the attack."  This tells me that a spokesperson for a bar association, presented with video of lawyers actually abducting a litigant, tying him to a tree, embaldening him and beating him up, refused to make a call as to whether this was unprofessional conduct or not.  But he did promise they will "look into it."

I look forward to the report of the committee of experts they convene for that investigation.

Link: Reuters