File photo of the Supreme Court
The Supreme Court has received an anonymous email threatening a blast, say the police. All law interns have been barred from entering the court for a month and security checks have been increased in the court premises since the mail, which came last week.
Litigants who come to the court to consult lawyers will also not be allowed in. Visitors and lawyers entering courtrooms are also being frisked.
Earlier this month, an anonymous threat had been received by Justice Dipak Misra, who was on the panel that refused to stop the hanging of 1993 blasts convict Yakub Memon on July 30.
The letter, which was found by security guards in the backyard of the judge's home in Delhi, said in Hindi: "irrespective of the protection you may avail, we will eliminate you."
Sources say last week, the security of four judges, including the three who decided on Yakub Memon, was reviewed by the Delhi Police. The security of all these judges has been increased to a "very high level," say the police.
The Chief Justice of India, HL Dattu, had a meeting with the Supreme Court bar association yesterday and explained the security threat to the top court.
None of the threatening letters mention Yakub Memon, who was hanged hours after the Supreme Court judges, in a historic pre-dawn hearing, rejected his last legal attempt to stop his execution. Yakub Memon was convicted in 2007 for helping plan the deadly blasts in which 257 people were killed in Mumbai. Those who opposed his hanging said the main role was played by his brother Tiger Memon, who has been missing since 1993 and is believed to be in Pakistan.
Speaking on the threat to Justice Dipak Misra, the Chief Justice of India, HL Dattu, had said the Supreme Court had taken measures to deal with such threats. "Our job is to decide the cases and we do it without fear. We do our job and leave the rest," said the top judge.