HC asks Delhi Police to form expert team for security of courts

The Delhi HC has directed the Commissioner of Delhi Police to constitute a team of experts to undertake the exercise of security audit of the High Court Complex

The Delhi High Court has directed the Commissioner of Delhi Police to constitute a team of experts to undertake the exercise of security audit of the High Court Complex as well as all the District Court Complexes in the national capital.

Hearing a suo motu case registered following the gun firing incident at Rohini District Court in its September order which released on Friday, a Division Bench of Chief Justice D.N. Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh said: "Keeping in mind and in the background, the features and factors, peculiar to each Court Complex, including but not limited to location, number of exit and entry points, number of courtrooms as well as their respective topography, the team so constituted would take considered decision on the various security-related aspects such as number of police personnel required to be deployed, number of CCTV cameras to be installed, etc."

Status report of Delhi Police does bring forth certain measures having been put in place. However, a one-time measure or exercise would not suffice. Commissioner of Police shall, based on the audit, undertake periodical review of the security arrangements and depending on the given situation, the required number of security personnel shall be deployed and requisite gadgets shall be installed, it read.

Since Delhi Police has the necessary expertise in the field of security, the security-related devices shall be procured directly by them, under intimation to the Court Administration and Government of NCT of Delhi. As and when the devices are procured, the necessary funds shall be made available by the Government of NCT of Delhi, without any delay, it said.

Respective Bar Associations shall devise a mechanism to issue ID Cards with QR codes or smart chips to all advocates who are members of these associations. For those advocates who are enrolled with the Bar Council of Delhi but are not members of any Bar Association, similar ID Cards shall be issued by the Bar Council of Delhi, the court said seeking

suggestions from the Delhi Police in this regard.

The bench asked the police to ensure that the latest technology in metal detection and baggage scanning, etc. is employed. No baggage shall be permitted inside the court premises without scanning.

It stressed that there should be round-the-clock monitoring of the court buildings through CCTV cameras and it shall be ensured that the cameras are in working condition, without fail.

As regards, high-risk Under Trial Prisoners (UTPs), as far as possible, their appearance may be secured through virtual mode, the court said before listing the matter for further hearing on April 18, 2022.

--IANS

jw/shb/