NEW DELHI: Chief Justice of India N V Ramana on Friday expressed serious concern over the firing incident at Rohini Court complex in Delhi in which two assailants in lawyers attire gunned down gangster Jindra Gogi, who was in judicial custody.
CJI Ramana wanted to visit the scene of the incident and take stock of the security arrangements inside the court complex but was advised against visiting the crime scene. The CJI, however, conveyed his deep distress over the incident to Delhi high court Chief Justice D N Patel and asked him to take all necessary measures, in consultation with the Union government, for arranging foolproof security arrangements in all court complexes within the national capital territory.
CJI told the Delhi CJ that this is not the first firing incident inside the Delhi court complexes and desired that the Delhi police and other authorities should be taking adequate measures and installing equipment at appropriate places inside the court complexes to ensure that the courts functioned without any violent incident.
The CJI was told by the Delhi HC CJ D N Patel that he is in touch with the Delhi police on the incident. The Delhi police informed the Delhi HC CJ that one of the major security threat to the court complexes arises because of the apparent reluctance and refusal of lawyers to get frisked physically by the police personnel deployed at the entry points of court complexes.
The CJI was informed that during the firing by assailants that killed Gogi and the retaliatory firing by the Delhi Police personnel, in which the two assailants were neutralised, a stray bullet had hit the dais of the judicial officer at the nearby courtroom but luckily without hurting anyone.
The CJI said judicial officers, judges and lawyers as well as litigants must feel secure inside the court complexes to enable smooth dispensation of justice.
The SC had taken suo motu cognisance of the inadequate security cover provided to the judges and court complexes after the murder of Dhanbad judge in July. It had asked the state government to give details of the security inside court complexes as well as to judges at their residences.
On August 17, the SC had read the riot act to major states for disregarding deadline to file affidavits detailing security measures for judges and court complexes and imposed Rs 1 lakh cost on each.
The Rohini incident will force the CJI to expedite the hearing on the issue of judges and lawyers' security. It is expected that the suo motu matter would be listed next week.
