Ex-chief standing counsel jumps to death from HC bldg
He was forced to resign from the post of chief standing counsel, says lawyer
LUCKNOW: Former chief standing counsel of Uttar Pradesh Ramesh Chandra Pandey allegedly committed suicide by jumping off the third floor of the new building of Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court in Gomti Nagar on Tuesday afternoon, police said.
Inspector at Vibhuti Khand police station Mathura Rai said initial inquiry suggested that Pandey jumped off a window in the gallery of the third floor of C-Block of the building at around 1.45 pm after visiting his junior’s chamber on the same floor.
He said the reason behind Pandey taking the extreme step was not immediately known.
The post mortem report has confirmed ‘shock and haemorrhage’ as the cause of the death. Investigators have kept his viscera for further chemical analysis, said police.
While some lawyers claimed that he jumped to death on his own as he was under some pressure, others alleged foul play and demanded that the police should register a murder case.
However, no formal complaint was immediately lodged with the police. After holding the post of chief standing counsel for over a year, Pandey had resigned on July 19 this year. He was appointed CSC after the formation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state last year. “Some lawyers said they saw Pandey near the window and tried to stop him from jumping but failed. Pandey’s chamber was on the first floor of the same building,” Rai said. He added that the high court authorities had confirmed that the spot where Pandey fell was under CCTV surveillance. “The CCTV footage will be checked to ascertain the exact sequence of events,” he said.
Rai said Pandey fell on the ground covered with grass due to which no external injury was visible on his body.
“Some lawyers rushed Pandey to Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, nearly a kilometre away from the high court premises, where doctors pronounced him dead.
“After getting the consent of his wife and family members, Pandey’s body was taken to the mortuary of the King George’s Medical University for post-mortem examination,” he said.
Lawyers who reached the hospital after the incident failed to coherently narrate the sequence of events leading to Pandey’s death. According to lawyers, Pandey was planning to contest the election for the president of Oudh Bar Association after resigning from the post of CSC.
He had been elected the general secretary of Oudh Bar Association in the past.
LUCKNOW The lawyers’ fraternity on Tuesday demanded an investigation into the death of ex-chief standing counsel Ramesh Chandra Pandey.
Resentment was visible among a group of lawyers who gathered at Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital after coming to know about the tragic incident.
“What compelled the former chief standing counsel to commit suicide needs to be probed,” demanded lawyers.
In a facebook post, a senior lawyer Ashok Pande mentioned that Ramesh Chandra Pandey’s death should be probed by a sitting judge of the high court. “Pandey’s death was a result of the humiliation after being removed from the office of chief standing counsel,” he alleged.
“Why would anybody resign from such an important and prominent post of chief standing counsel without any concrete reason,” questioned another lawyer when he visited the mortuary of RML hospital after coming to know about Pandey’s death.
He said Pandey was a competent person to hold the CSC’s post but he was reportedly forced to resign.
› Why would anybody resign from such an important and prominent post of chief standing counsel without any concrete reason? A LAWYER
Amid murmurs over the probable reasons behind the alleged suicide, a few lawyers demanded an independent probe into Pandey’s death.
Another lawyer raised apprehension over the suicide theory stating that there were no reasons for Pandey to take such an extreme step.
He emphasised on an independent probe into the case.
Most of the senior lawyers refrained from making any comment over the issue, but resentment was visible among the group of junior lawyers present at RML hospital. The lawyers said Pandey was one of the most capable and popular personalities among senior lawyers.
“We cannot imagine that a successful lawyer like Ramesh Chandra Pandey could commit suicide,” said lawyer Prince Lenin.