A major security breach incident in Delhi's Rohini District Court took the entire country by surprise because of its severity. This incident took place at around 1 PM on Friday, 24th September 2021 in the courtroom no. 207 of the Rohini District Court where the notorious gangster Jitender "Gogi" Mann was brought for trial. According to the police, two assailants came into the court dressed as practicing lawyers complete with collar band, black blazer, trousers, and shoes, and shot several bullets at a heavily guarded Gogi in the courtroom.
Gogi, a gangster involved in about 30 criminal cases and was in Tihar jail since last year, was declared dead in the hospital. The two assailants are said to be from a rival gang named "Tillu Gang" who plotted to kill Gogi when brought to court for his hearing on Friday.
The Delhi Police Commissioner confirmed that when the two members of Tillu Gang open fired at Gogi inside the court, the Police escort present with Gogi swiftly killed both of them after recovering from the initial shock. Around 30-40 rounds were fired during the incident.
It is reported that Gogi and the leader of Tillu Gang, Tillu Tajpuria, were friends in college, but their feud turned into a gang war between them for so many years killing about 25 innocent people because of their rivalry.
Many videos have been circulated online of the incident and in these videos, it is seen that the common people and lawyers are running around to safety, Police are seen shooting at the two assailants and ensuring that innocent people are not hurt in the crossfire. But, in a report, it is found that a young female lawyer was hurt in that crossfire as she was present in that courtroom where the incident happened.
Following this grave incident, lawyers' bodies in Delhi demanded a probe into the incident and requested leave from the courts on Saturday, 25th September 2021 as everyone feared for their lives due to the incident. It was also demanded that there should be enhanced security protocols in all the district courts in the national capital.
On 25th September 2021, a lawyer filed an application in the Supreme Court seeking directions from the government to take quick measures concerning security in the District Courts in the capital. It was sought that Hardcore Criminals and Dreaded Gangsters should be produced before the courts, for the trial, via video conferencing, instead of physical presence. It was proposed keeping in mind the protection of the judicial officers, advocates, and the entire legal fraternity. It was mentioned that several District Courts didn't have any kind of alarming police posts to provide security to the legal fraternities in the court and as well as the common people. It was also demanded that CCTV cameras should be installed in all the District Courts so that all such incidents are caught in their true form for proper investigations. The applicant also cited several similar incidents that occurred in District Courts. According to the applicant, till the District Courts don't increase their security measures, we are going to keep seeing incidents like this. [Vishal Tiwari v. Union of India]
On the same day, another plea was issued in the Delhi High Court seeking directions on Delhi Police and the Bar Council of Delhi for taking required measures ensuring proper safety in the District Courts of Delhi. On Tuesday, 28th September 2021, the court gave an order to both the Delhi Police and the Delhi Bar Council. Delhi Police was instructed to ensure strict checking of the ID Cards of each lawyer entering the court premises. And, the Delhi Bar Council was advised to issue to all the members of the District Bar Associations to cooperate with the checking done by the Police personnel at the entrance of the courts. [Deepa Joseph v. The Commissioner of Police & Anr.]
On Tuesday, 28th September 2021, a lawyer filed a PIL in the Supreme Court seeking directions to prevent the presence of the undertrials on each court hearing for the safety of the public and the legal fraternities present in the court. It was argued by the petitioner that this facilitates opportunities for the hardcore prisoners to escape police custody. He also stated that that there are several provisions in the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) that gives the power to the courts to dispense the personal presence of the undertrials in normal trial proceedings. [Rishi Malhotra v. Union of India]
In the end, it is to be noted that courts are the place where people come to have the protection of the law, but if the security isn't up to the mark, then the people who are there to protect the law will be the ones who are the victims of grave incidents.
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