Mumbai: The Bombay Bar Association on Wednesday condemned and expressed its unequivocal outrage at “police excesses, physical assault, manhandling, brutality and detention of peaceful protestors in New Delhi on Oct 10, 2026, as also the detention of lawyers in Mumbai and other cities.”The resolution said, “The Association is deeply disturbed by the deplorable treatment meted out to members of the legal fraternity, including senior advocates… who were subjected to the use of excessive force and detention while exercising their constitutional right to peaceful protest.”Senior Advocate Shadan Farasat being physically manhandled and hauled, “like a parcel of goods, is particularly shocking and wholly unacceptable,” stated the BBA, one of the oldest and venerated bars in India.The resolution signed by BBA President Nitin Thakker, VP Venkatesh Dhond and Secretary Naushad Engineer reiterated that the right to peacefully assemble, express dissent and protest is a fundamental constitutional right and an indispensable feature of a functioning democracy.“The freedom to disagree with the government or any public authority is not a privilege granted at the discretion of the state; it is a constitutional guarantee that the state is duty-bound to respect and protect,” it stressed.The police are required to uphold the Constitution and protect life, liberty and dignity of every citizen, the BBA resolution said, adding any disregard “strikes at the very foundations of the rule of law.”The dignity and independence of the legal profession must be respected at all times, the BBA stated and dubbed the “physical manhandling or detention of advocates” an “affront” to the constitutional values that the Bar is committed to defend.The BBA emphasises that the rule of law cannot be preserved by resorting to methods that undermine the rule of law itself.It resolved to continue to stand firmly in defence of constitutional freedoms, civil liberties and the rule of law, irrespective of the identity of the persons exercising those freedoms or the causes for which they peacefully raise their voices.
