Jammu Bar Association expels Devinder Singh Behal

Jammu: Devinder Singh Behal, a close aide of Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Geelani, whose premises were raided by the NIA on Sunday in the J&K funding case has been expelled by Bar Association of Jammu.
“As soon as we came to know about his (Behal) activities, we verified our records and immediately decided to expel him without any notice from the primary membership of the association,” BAJ president B S Salathia told reporters here.
“Ours is a nationalist association and we will not tolerate the presence of any ‘anti-national’ element, whether associated with Hurriyat or any other group,” he said.
Salathia said Behal became a member of the Bar Association of Jammu in 2013 on the recommendation of two senior advocates.
He said even members of the association belonging to his community took a strong exception of his activities and recommended his expulsion.
“The decision to expel him was unanimous and aimed at sending a clear message that we will not tolerate any anti-national activity,” he said.
The BAJ chief also advised senior lawyers to verify the credentials of those seeking membership of the association before recommending their cases, and asserted that a “conspiracy has been going on to intrude anti-national elements into the body to dilute its stand”.