Chief Justice of India NV Ramana has expressed concerns over a shootout in Rohini court
Chief Justice of India NV Ramana has expressed deep concerns over a shootout inside a courtroom in Delhi that left three gangsters dead and several people injured. The incident raised serious questions about security in a heavily protected and sanitised zone. In videos, gunshots are heard in the court and policemen and lawyers are seen in a scramble in the building at Rohini in north Delhi.
Chief Justice Ramana has spoken to the Delhi high Court Chief Justice DN Patel, asking him to speak with both the police and the bar to ensure the functioning of the court is not disturbed.
A matter of safety and security of court complexes and judicial personnel is already under consideration of the Supreme Court, after a district judge in Jharkhand was murdered last month. The Supreme Court is likely to prioritise the matter next week after today's violence inside the courtroom in the national capital.
The local court in Rohini will remain closed tomorrow, the Delhi Bar Association said in a statement.
Gunmen dressed as lawyers, present in court, shot gangster Jitender Gogi thrice. Special force personnel escorting the gangster then fired back, killing both the attackers on the spot.
How the gunmen managed to enter the courtroom with weapons has led to criticism of the police. However, it has been pointed out that resistance by lawyers from constant frisking and the unpleasant consequences faced by the police in the past apparently led to leniency in frisking of lawyers over a long period of time.
Even a minor dispute over parking space between the police and lawyers led to violence in Delhi's Tis Hazari court complex in November 2019, with lawyers setting fire to a police vehicles and policemen ransacking lawyers' chambers.