Plea in Delhi HC seeking security update in District Courts

By Legal Wires 4 Minutes Read

A plea has been moved in Delhi High Court seeking directions on Delhi Police and Bar Council of Delhi for taking measures to ensure the safety and security of Delhi District Courts, following the Rohini Court shootout incident on Friday in which three people were killed and the question of lax in security were raised.

Deepa Joseph v. The Commissioner of Police & Anr.

The petition has been filed by Advocate Deepa Joseph through advocate Robin Raju and Blessan Mathews, said the videos, images and related information over the incident left her mentally jolted.

The plea stated that the shootout inside the court puts a big question mark on the safety and security of judges, lawyers and litigants inside the District Courts in Delhi.

“In the recent past there have been incidents of shooting in the Dwarka Court, a firing near the Saket Court in May 2019 and earlier in 2017, an undertrial was killed after being shot inside the Rohini Court Complex. A shocking incident similar in line to the incident in Rohini Court was the killing of a Delhi Police head constable when four armed assailants open fired inside a courtroom at Karkardooma Court Complex in the year 2015,” the petition stated.

“The ease with which the assailants entered into the court premises in the attire shows that they were well aware that it is easy to get access into the court by being in a lawyers attire,” it adds.

The petition also sought a strict direction by the High Court to the Delhi Police Commissioner to instruct all the police personnel at court entrances to ensure that they check the ID cards of each and every lawyer who enters the court premises.

With regards to Delhi Bar Council, it has been suggested that an advisory should be issued to all the District Bar Associations to recommend members of their Bar to co-operate with Police personnel at the main entrance of courts.

The Chief Justice of India has expressed deep concerns about the incident and has spoken to the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court in this regard.