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The Delhi High Court today took suo moto cognisance of the safety and security of district courts in Delhi in light of the recent shootout incident at Rohini District Court, Delhi which resulted in several deaths and injuries.

The division bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh has issued notice to the Commissioner of Police, Delhi,  Ministry of Law and Justice, Bar Council of Delhi, all District Bar Associations and others and sought suggestions for the safety and security of all courts in Delhi.

The court has directed all respondents to give their suggestions to Counsel appearing for Commissioner of Police, Delhi.

The court observed that "three lives have been lost, there is a need for proper and effective deployment of number of police personnels and installation of more number of CCTV cameras and of metal detectors. There is also a need for installation of UBSS. Regular security checking is also required. This court wants valuable suggestions from the respondents for security of all the court complexes at Delhi."

Seeking inputs, the court has listed the matter for next hearing on October 5.

On September 28, the single judge bench of Justice Rekha Palli had issued notice in plea seeking directions to the Commissioner of Police, Delhi and  Bar Council of Delhi to to take requisite measures that ensure safety and security of the District Courts of Delhi in the wake of the “shocking and gory” shootout inside the Rohini Court on September 24.

An interim application has also been filed in the Supreme Court seeking immediate steps and measures for tightening security at subordinate courts.

The application has been filed by Adv. Vishal Tiwari in the suo-moto matter pending before the Supreme Court over the Larger Issue Of Safety And Security Of Judicial Officers.

In wee hours of the afternoon on September 24, 2021, notorious Delhi gangster Jitender Mann Gogi was shot dead by members of a rival gang inside a courtroom at the Rohini court in New Delhi, in a shootout that left other several other lawyers and an intern injured.

In videos that emerged of the incident, rounds of gunshots are heard outside the courtroom and policemen and lawyers are seen scrambling for safety. 

Case Title: Court on its own motion vs The Commissioner of Police and Ors.