Bengaluru: The Hubballi Police Commissioner has been directed by the Karnataka High Court to provide police protection for any advocate representing the three Kashmiri students arrested in the Hubballi sedition case.

Additionally, Chief Justice A S Oka criticised the Hubballi Bar Association’s resolution to not represent any of the accused in the case. Judge Oka said, “By passing the resolution, they are stopping court work. Are they carrying out a mini-trial by themselves? This act has to be deprecated.”

It can be recalled that three Kashmiri students from an engineering college in Hubballi were arrested by police after they allegedly raised pro-Pakistan slogans on February 15. Shortly after their arrest, members of the Hubballi Bar Association called the accused “anti-nationals” and, in a resolution, urged lawyers to refuse them legal aid.

In a similar move, the Mysuru Bar Association had also refused to appear for a University of Mysuru alumna who was charged with sedition for holding a placard that read “Free Kashmir” during a protest.