New Delhi: A bench headed by Chief Justice D N Patel, hearing the suo motu case concerning the September 24 shootout that killed three persons in a courtroom in Rohini Court, proposed that the Delhi government be accountable for allocating a budget for the purchase of security devices and as the police has the expertise, it should buy them under intimation to the government and the court.
The bench, which also comprised Justices Jyoti Singh, clarified that it will issue appropriate directions to the authorities after the stakeholders have perused the suggestions summarised by it. The court 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.
The Police Commissioner will put together a team of experts for a security audit of courts and deploy an appropriate number of personnel, the court said. It added 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 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 crowds.
The court 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 also said that wherever possible, high-risk undertrials should be produced virtually or else, in vulnerable witness rooms or in jails themselves. The court will now take up the matter next on November 24.