Heavy police presence, entry records, ID verification, bomb detectors, combat vehicles and sniffer dogs turned the high court into a fortress overnight, making it inaccessible to some who could earlier walk in only after a baggage scan.
On Monday morning, visitors to the Bombay high court saw justice appearing to be done. Heavy police presence, entry records, ID verification, bomb detectors, combat vehicles and sniffer dogs turned the high court into a fortress overnight, making it inaccessible to some who could earlier walk in only after a baggage scan.
“The guidelines should have been more widely publicised,” said senior advocate Ashok Mundargi.
He added that about 30-40% of the advocates did not know about the requirement of their bar association ID card to enter, and had to wait in long queues to get a one-day pass.
“Some cases in other courts were adjourned or kept back because advocates could not make it to the court on time. They were standing in queues that went past Mumbai University,” said an advocate on condition of anonymity.
“Some litigants could not enter as they required their lawyers letter to obtain a one-day pass, and most didn’t have it,” said advocate Vijay Hiremath.
“It is absurd because they are not bringing Kasab here,” said advocate Gautam Patel. He, however, added, “They (the police) have handled it smoothly. We had no problem in entering the court.”
The barricading of courtroom 49 on the second floor has also aggrieved a number of advocates as they had to change floors to go from one court on either side of room 49 to the other.
“We were consulted about this and told that room 49 will not be barricaded, but they have,” Mundargi said. He reasoned the move saying that it could be a “knee-jerk reaction”.
Commissioner of police Sanjeev Dayal said, “The security provided is as per the directions of the high court. We will have to continue with the security measures as the threat is not just to Kasab, but also the advocates. We have to ensure that no harm comes to them.”
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