The gang war on the busy Karkardooma Court premises recently has exposed the Delhi Police claim of providing foolproof security in Delhi courts. Out of the 100 CCTVs cameras installed on the court premises, 86 are dysfunctional, said sources. Even the door-frame metal detectors (DFMDs) installed to check those entering courts are not working. The security deployment is so casual that the armed gang members had an unhindered entry to the court.
The court complex having jurisdiction over East and North-East police districts lacks security personnel and necessary equipment for guarding the busy court premises where thousands of people, including judges, lawyers, court staff and litigants throng every day. A major loophole was found at the entry itself where the DFMDs installed were not working properly and most of the people entering the court did not even bother to go through the detector. The police also did not evince any keen interest in frisking people.
A total of six scanning machines and six metal detectors are being used at the court, but the machines are gathering dust as they are either not functioning or not being used for security purposes. A senior lawyer at Shahdara Bar Association said, “As per the reports we received last month, out of more than 100 CCTVs installed on the court premises, 86 have been found to be dysfunctional.” The condition has not improved as authorities seem least bothered to make these equipments functional or replace these with new ones.
Shahdara Bar Association president Mahesh Sharma said, “The accused use the lawyers’ entry gate and this raises a question on the security scenario in the court. The police should allow only lawyers having valid passes to enter the court.”
“Every day a number of criminals appear for case hearing, where lawyers, judges and common people walk in and around together. What if the criminals attack lawyers, judges or litigants,” said another lawyer.
