Delhi HC raps lawyer for 'nari narak ka dwar hai' remark
A lawyer's remark that 'nari narak ka dwar hai' (women are the gateway to hell) drew the ire of the Delhi High Court which warned him of stern action on Monday. The statement was made by the lawyer who was representing a Delhi-based ashram of Virender Dev Dixit, facing a CBI probe for allegedly confining women and girls. A bench, comprising Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar, warned the advocate, Amol Kokane, that his manner of argument would invite contempt of court action. The lawyer said in court that, "...According to Sankaracharya, 'nari narak ka dwar hai' (women are the gateway to hell)." The anguished bench then asked him which "Sankaracharya" he was refferring to, but the lawyer did not reply. His remark came in response to the court's query on why only women and girls were being "abandoned" by parents at the ashrams of the Adhyatmik Vishwa Vidyalaya founded by Dixit. The submission by the lawyer also led to murmurs among the people and advocates in the court room. Delhi government's lawyer, Rahul Mehra, also expressed his displeasure against the arguments by Kokane. Mehra even questioned whether Kokane was even an advocate and demanded that his registration at the bar be examined. The court, however, instantly concluded the day's hearing in the matter and asked everyone associated with the case to immediately leave the court room. The Adhyatmik Vishwa Vidyalaya, located in Rohini in north Delhi, has been in the news after several hundred women and girls were allegedly found illegally confined there in a fortress-like premises late last year. The founder-cum-spiritual leader of the institute, Dixit, is facing a CBI probe and is yet to be traced by the agency which has issued a look out circular for him. The agency has also claimed to have raided several of his ashrams in the search for him as he is yet to join the investigation despite a high court order that he be present before it. PTI
