Lawyers call for stricter security, say law & order collapsing badly

New Delhi: "How did the two assailants manage to carry weapons inside the courtroom?...It's a total lapse of law and order in the court, I was outside the courtroom when the incident happened," Advocate Kalyan Nayan said, standing outside the Rohini District Court — recalling having lived through the shootout that took place inside the premises on Friday afternoon.

Notorious gangster and undertrial prisoner Jitender Gogi was shot dead inside Special Judge (NDPS) Gagandeep Singh's courtroom by two assailants of a rival gang, one of whom pretended to be a lawyer and another a client, while he was brought to court in connection with a hearing pertaining to a murder case, lawyers and eyewitnesses said.

However, the police have claimed that both the accused were dressed as lawyers. One female lawyer present in the court was injured in the resultant crossfire and physical altercation but it was not from a bullet. The police shot down the two assailants.

However, this is not the first such instance inside the Rohini court, lawyers told Millennium Post, adding that the premises have become infamous for such shootouts. "Such incidents keep happening here, this is the norm...how did the assailants enter the court in the first place and that too with a weapon?" asked Advocate Pankaj Gupta.

As per lawyers, a similar incident took place inside the court premises where an undertrial prisoner, Vinod alias Balle, was shot dead by assailants. Two such incidents of shooting have occurred subsequent to that where those prisoners brought for a hearing have been shot dead by rival gang members.

"This is a total failure on the part of court security...one of the assailants who was dressed up as a lawyer must have created a fake ID card but did security personnel check the other one?" Nayan asked.

"Security should be strengthened both outside and inside the court premises…these incidents have become way too common here," another lawyer said

Several lawyers Millennium Post spoke to, said in unison that the Bar Council of India (BCI) should take up the issue of security inside courts, especially when notorious undertrials are produced.

"We are young practicing advocates...anything could have happened today, me and my colleagues were outside the courtroom when we heard the sound of multiple gunshots and fled the spot," another lawyer said.

Rohini Court Bar Association Vice President Shilpesh Chaudhary said that the association held a meeting after the incident where a resolution was passed to strengthen checking and frisking of outsiders entering the court. "It's difficult to frisk so many people entering the premises but we will now take strong steps in this regard," he said.

Meanwhile, the Delhi Bar Association of Tis Hazari Court has said that in view of the call given by the Coordination Committee of the All District Court Bar Associations in Delhi, working of courts will be suspended due to revision of security norms and members will abstain from work for today — September 25.