Man arrested after attacking Judge Amala Lawrence in her chamber; Chengannur bar association protests

ALAPPUZHA: A judicial officer and two court staff members sustained injuries on Wednesday morning after a disgruntled litigant barged into the Chengannur Munsiff Court and attempted to assault the presiding judge inside her chamber.

The incident occurred around 10:00 AM, just moments before the court was scheduled to commence its daily proceedings. The assailant, identified as twenty-eight-year-old Arun Mohan, a resident of Peringala in Chengannur, entered the court premises disguised in a helmet and a raincoat. He managed to breach security and force his way into the chamber of Munsiff Judge and Judicial First Class Magistrate Amala Lawrence. Upon confirming her identity, Arun aggressively lunged toward her. In a desperate bid to escape the assault, the judge panicked and fell, sustaining injuries.

Two court employees, clerk R. Jayakumar and court keeper M. Vaisakh, immediately intervened to protect the magistrate. A violent scuffle ensued, during which a glass bottle concealed inside the attacker's raincoat fell and shattered on the floor. Arun managed to overpower the staff, knocking one down before fleeing the chamber. Meanwhile, the distressed judge managed to run out of her chamber, seeking temporary refuge in the nearby Bar Association office before moving to the administrative staff quarters.

The suspect attempted to flee the court complex after the assault, but alert court staff and local autorickshaw drivers gave chase, successfully cornering and restraining him nearby. He was subsequently handed over to the local police, who placed him under arrest. The injured judge and the two court employees were rushed to a local hospital for medical treatment. Following the security breach, all scheduled court proceedings for the day were suspended.

Preliminary police investigations revealed that Arun has a history of erratic and troublesome behaviour. His family had previously approached the court seeking intervention due to domestic violence, which resulted in a court order restraining Arun from entering his family home. Infuriated by this ruling, Arun had recently sent a threatening letter to Judge Amala Lawrence questioning the verdict. He decided to confront and attack her directly when the written threat failed to yield results.

The violent breach of security within the temple of justice has sparked widespread outrage among the legal community. The Chengannur Bar Association convened an emergency protest meeting to condemn the attack and demand stringent security measures for judicial officers. Senior advocates George Thomas, Joseph George, and D. Vijayakumar led the protest, calling for immediate state intervention to ensure safety within court complexes.