Chennai, April 10 (Inditop) Two lawyers were arrested in the early hours of Friday on charges of insulting national leaders, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and assaulting Janata Party president Subramaniam Swamy in February. They were immediately released on bail.
A. Kayalvizhi and R. Shiva Sankaran were taken to the residence of a magistrate and got bail immediately, a police official said.
On April 8, cases were registered against a group of about 30 advocates who tore pictures of the prime minister, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse in the Madras High Court premises.
Lawyers had also protested in February over the central government allegedly collaborating with Colombo against ethnic minority Tamils in Sri Lanka. The protests included an assault on Swamy.
On Feb 19, police and lawyers clashed in the high court premises, resulting in several lawyers and two judges being hurt and the burning down of a police station within the complex.
The lawyers claimed they were assaulted by police and struck work demanding the suspension of Chennai Police Commissioner K. Radhakrishnan and Director General of Police K.P. Jain.
Police officials, however, claimed the measure was the aftermath of the burning of a police station in the court premises.
After a month-long strike, Lawyers had returned to work after the high court ordered the suspension of the senior police officials three weeks ago.
The officials are yet to be suspended by the government.