Lawyers protest in Coimbatore and demand repeal of new penal laws

Lawyers form a human chain in protest outside the joint court complex in Coimbatore on Wednesday. | Photo: S. Siva Saravanan

Lawyers practising at the Combined Court Complex in Coimbatore boycotted court proceedings and staged a human chain in the city on Wednesday in protest to demand the withdrawal of three new penal laws introduced by the Union government.

The protest was held under the banner of the Advocates Joint Action Committee (JAC), which had called for a nationwide protest on Wednesday. Lawyers boycotting the courts formed a human chain on Government Arts College Road and chanted slogans.

They wanted the Union government to withdraw the three new penal laws, namely Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA), which replaced the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC), Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC) and Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (IEA).

Officials of the Coimbatore Bar Association took charge of the protest in Coimbatore, which did not cause any traffic disruption.