Lawyer takes off shirt,shouts slogan against PM at function

As Singh walked up to the lectern,Suman stood on the desk,took off his shirt and shouted: “Prime Minister,go back. Roll back diesel prices”.

Singh was attending a conference,organised by Indian Law Institute,on Economic Growth in Asia and Changes of Corporate Environment. Chief Justice of India S H Kapadia,Law Minister Salman Khurshid and a number of legal luminaries from across Asia were present at the event.

Special Protection Group (SPG) and other security personnel whisked Suman — a lawyer at Patialia House Courts and a member of the Supreme Court Bar Association — out of the hall.

Police said Suman,who lives in East Delhi’s Shakarpur,entered the auditorium using a “proper” invitation card.

“The SPG handed him over to us,” an officer said.

He was let off in the evening. Delhi Police PRO Rajan Bhagat said: “No case has been registered.”

“Police let me go after a phone call from the PMO. My intention was only to stage a protest,not to hurt anyone. I will keep protesting whenever the need arises,” Suman said after his release.

He had earlier filed a petition in the Delhi High Court seeking prosecution of the Prime Minister in the cash-for-vote scam.

The High Court,in the last week of August,dismissed his petition and slapped a fine of Rs 1 lakh for filing the “frivolous petition” with malafide intention.

Soon after Saturday’s incident,RJD chief Lalu Prasad,a constituent of the ruling UPA coalition,disbanded the Delhi unit of the party. “I strongly condemn it. Suman was made a member of the party by the Delhi state unit without verifying his credentials. He was made the in-charge (of the legal cell) one-and-half-year ago,” he said.

“When we looked at his background after this incident,we found that he had earlier written against the Prime Minister. Hence,I have disbanded the entire Delhi unit of RJD. I will reconstitute it later,” he said.

Prasad’s rival and JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav praised the lawyer. “It was a display of personal courage by him. It reflected the angst among people,” he said.

The Protester

Santosh Kumar Suman,a practising lawyer for the past 10 years,is from Begusarai district in Bihar.

In 2010,he was made president of the RJD’s Delhi unit legal cell.

After completing his LLB from TNB Law College in Bhagalpur in 1997,he moved to Delhi.

At present,he is staying in a rented,one-room flat in East Delhi’s Shakarpur area.

The owner of the flat said Suman took the room on rent just 23 days ago. “He seemed to be a quiet person. He is not married and no one has visited him since he moved in here,” she said.