Times Now

Chennai, Feb 20: Police arrested 150 lawyers in Chennai on Friday as protests continue to disrupt life in the state. The lawyers were taking out a protest march to the Tamil Nadu secretariat over the violence in the Madras High Court on Thursday, when rampaging lawyers and lathi wielding police fought pitched battles.

The Tamil Nadu Bar Association president is among those arrested.

Courts in Chennai remained closed today and lawyers were seen protesting outside the court premises, as well.

Earlier in the day, the issue rocked Tamil Nadu assembly, leading to an en masse eviction of the entire opposition.

The opposition was demanding that the question hour be postponed to discuss the mayhem on court premises.

The DMK government has ordered a CBI probe into the matter and is expected to make an official statement on the incident.

As soon as the proceedings started on Friday, opposition members demanded that the question hour be postponed to discuss clashes in the high court which left scores, including a judge and advocates and media-persons injured.

Speaker R Avudiyappan declined to postpone the question hour, saying he would consider the matter later even as the AIADMK members shouted slogans, saying "the state is burning". As the Speaker stuck to his decision, the AIADMK members staged a walk out, followed by members of MDMK, CPI and CPI-M, shouting slogans condemning the DMK Government. The PMK members persisted with their demand even as the Speaker proceeded with the question hour.

As they kept on pressing for postponement of the question hour despite his repeated pleas, the Speaker ordered the ward and watch staff to remove the slogan-shouting PMK members. The AIADMK members later returned to the House.

Seizing the opportunity, DMK's arch rival AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa had on Thursday demanded that emergency be imposed in the state. Jayalalithaa demanded dismissal of the DMK government on the grounds of "failure of law and order". Condemning the police lathicharge on advocates at the High Court, she said in a statement that the incident itself was a proof of deteriorating law and order in the state and was enough for dismissal of the M Karunanidhi government.

A troubled chief minister Karunanidhi has written to the chief justice for help, as the protesting lawyers have threatened to continue their agitation and the situation in the state remains volatile.

Karunanidhi has written to the Madras High Court's Chief Justice seeking his intervention to ensure justice is done.

"Your co-operation is very essential for me and for this government. I am expecting your valuable suggestions to contain this violence and to ensure justice is done," Karunanidhi, who is recuperating in a hospital, wrote in a letter to the Acting Chief Justice (ACJ) of the Madras High Court SJ Mukhopadhaya.

A CBI probe was ordered after Justice Mukhopadhaya suggested there should be a CBI probe, shortly after the historic century-old building resembled a warzone as the stone-pelting lawyers and the police who also lobbed teargas shells clashed for three hours inside the premises leaving an unspecified number of police personnel and advocates including some women injured, some of them seriously. Some injured lawyers had blood all over their faces.

The trouble started when the police who were in full strength anticipating trouble began arresting some 13 lawyers in connection with the attack on Janata Party chief Subramanian Swamy in the court on Tuesday. This sparked off a protest by advocates.