Bomb threat scares Delhi High Court, commotion leads to security review

The Delhi High Court today received a bomb threat bringing back memories of the lethal bomb blast of 2011 which had claimed more than 10 lives and injured around 80 persons.

According to NDTV, the Police Control Room received a call at 10:54 am from north east Delhi saying there would be a blast at the High Court in an hour.

Though it was later confirmed that the call was a hoax, the episode raised some concerns regarding the security arrangements in the High Court.

The major concern was that Fire Trucks, Ambulances, SWAT vehicles and Bomb Disposal Squad Vehicles could not enter the High Court precincts from Gate 7 due to the passage being obstructed. The commotion due to the bomb threat and mismanagement in the parking of vehicles of lawyers led to this obstruction.

According to highly placed sources, there was a high-level security review during the lunch break today. The same was attended by Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justices Sanjiv Khanna, S Ravindra Bhat, Registrar General Dinesh Sharma, Special CP P Kamraj and senior officials of the Delhi police. President of the Delhi High Court Bar Association, Kirti Uppal was also present.

At the meeting, aspects relating to ensuring smooth passage in case of emergencies and ensuring that commotion and melee does not affect rescue or preventive efforts were discussed.