Panic gripped those present at the Rohini Court today after a minor blast was heard in the court premises. It was later discovered that the
blast originated/affected a laptop. It is being presumed that the reason behind the blast was a short circuit in the machine. Further investigation is ongoing in the matter.
After the blast, all the lawyers rushed out of the courtroom, and the room where it originated was cordoned off. At least seven fire tenders were also rushed to the spot. No one was injured due to the unfortunate event.
Last month, the Delhi High Court had said it will pass directions to ensure safety and security in courts. A bench headed by Chief Justice D N Patel, which was hearing its suo motu case concerning the September 24 shootout which killed three people in a courtroom at Rohini Court, stated that it would incorporate as directions its earlier suggestions on strictly regulating ingress in judicial complexes by deploying an appropriate number of personnel and devices based on a security audit.
The bench, also comprising Justice Jyoti Singh, said it will take up the matter in April again to review the directions and asked the Bar to cooperate in the meantime.
“The directions can be amended later on if there is any difficulty in execution. I am adjourning this matter… Changes can’t be made every 15 days (and) it can’t be a superfluous difficulty. Directions will remain in force till April 18,” the Chief Justice said.
The court also asked the Delhi High Court Bar Association (DHCBA) to ensure that it issues passes for entry of cars belonging to its members inside the high court premises. Senior advocate and DHCBA President Mohit Mathur asked the court to allow the association to issue cards to members for entry inside the high court.
On November 8, the court had said that it expected full cooperation of the Delhi government, city police and lawyers in matters of safety and security in courts and suggested a slew of directions that could be issued.
It had proposed that the city government should be accountable for the allocation of budget for the purchase of security devices and since police have the expertise, such devices should be purchased by them under intimation to the government and the court.
The court had said that based on the suggestions received from Delhi police and various lawyers’ bodies, it made its own ‘short summary’ which may be put into practice.
Police Commissioner would put together a team of experts for a security audit of courts and then deploy an appropriate number of personnel, the court had said.
Besides, it had stated that the entry of all, including advocates, would be subject to frisking which is quick and efficient and going through metal detectors, and no baggage be allowed inside courts without scanning.
The court had also suggested placing all court complexes under round-the-clock CCTV monitoring, issuing ‘stickers’ to vehicles that may be permitted entry inside a court complex and installing under vehicle scanning system as well as automated gates to tackle crowd.
The court had further said that the Bar Council of Delhi should devise a mechanism to issue non-transferable identity cards having a QR-code or a chip to lawyers.
It had also said that wherever possible, high-risk undertrials should be produced virtually or else, in vulnerable witness rooms or in jails themselves.
(With Inputs From PTI)
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