General criminal laws do not fully capture the distinct vulnerabilities advocates face, given that threats often arise directly from their professional duties and can be politically or economically motivated
As a former journalist who traded the newsroom for the courtroom a few years ago, I’ve borne witness to the raw underbelly of India’s legal fray. The adrenaline of chasing stories gave way to the solemn duty of defending clients, but the dangers I once reported on as distant headlines soon became personal perils.
None shook me more than the brutal slaying of the advocate couple Gattu Vaman Rao and Nagamani in February 2021. Representing victims of land encroachments and environmental harms, they were killed in broad daylight by those they had challenged legally. Their dying declarations, confirmed by forensic analysis, exposed the threats linked to their professional work. The Supreme Court’s 12th August 2025 order transferring the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) highlights longstanding weaknesses in local law enforcement’s impartiality and promptness.
This tragic episode is not isolated; it reflects a growing national concern over violence targeting legal professionals and has intensified calls for a dedicated Advocates Protection Act to shield those who uphold justice.
Escalating risks and the demand for dedicated legal safeguards:
In the past decade, violence targeting lawyers has sadly become more frequent—ranging from courtroom chaos and mob attacks to premeditated killings—often because lawyers challenge entrenched political, corporate, or criminal interests.
Bar associations in Telangana and elsewhere have vocally demanded laws explicitly protecting advocates. The All India Lawyers Advocacy Group (AILAJ), following prolonged campaigning, drafted a national Advocates Protection Bill in 2021 proposing stringent penalties for assault and intimidation, fast-track investigations, and victim compensation. Though the Bar Council of India also issued the draft bill the same year, the bill languishes in legislative purgatory.
Skeptics note that existing laws like Sections pertaining to attempt to murder, voluntarily causing hurt, and criminal intimidation of the new Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), or the old Indian Penal Code (IPC), coupled with procedural provisions for prompt FIR registration under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (old Code of Criminal Procedure), already criminalise violence against any citizen, including advocates. So why insist on a specialized statute?
Why a specialised advocates’ protection law matters?
General criminal laws do not fully capture the distinct vulnerabilities advocates face, given that threats often arise directly from their professional duties and can be politically or economically motivated.
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