Why Punjab and Haryana High Court removed Punjab Police from judge's security detail

Following the recent shooting at Amritsar's Golden Temple, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed that personnel of the Punjab Police be immediately removed from the security detail of a High Court judge..On September 21, a man shot himself dead with a firearm he snatched from a personal security officer (PSO) who was escorting a sitting judge of the High Court visiting the Golden Temple. The High Court had taken suo motu cognisance of the incident..In an order passed on September 27, a Bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Anil Kshetarpal said that the judge in question had passed judicial orders over the past 12-24 months exposing large-scale lapses on the part of investigating agencies in Punjab."This Court, thus, deems it appropriate that the security personnel dealing with security of the learned Judge ought not to be members of Punjab police force, but either of UT Administration or of State of Haryana. Deployment of a neutral police force but not of State of Punjab for securing the movement of the learned Judge shall certainly assuage the feeling of insecurity perceived by the learned Judge," the order stated..Accordingly, the Court ordered that the personnel manning the security of the judge within and outside Chandigarh shall immediately be changed from Punjab Police to police personnel belonging to either the Chandigarh Administration or the State of Haryana..The Court said that on September 22, the sitting High Court judge's security was compromised at the Golden Temple, when a man had stolen a 9 mm pistol from the holster of the judge's PSO.The man had then attempted to run towards entrance of the Golden Temple "with possible intent to harm the learned Judge, but his advancement was thwarted by the said PSO, who tried to retrieve his pistol from the miscreant and in the scuffle that followed, the miscreant shot himself in the head," the order states.The person was later identified as Hariprasad by his mother Lakshmi Anandhan, resident of Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu..On the progress of the investigation into the incident, Punjab Police told the Court that three first information reports (FIRs) have been registered.While one of the FIRs pertains to the Golden Temple incident, the other FIR relates to the obstruction of the judge's vehicle by a mob on the Barnala-Moga Highway when he was returning to Chandigarh.The details of the third FIR were not revealed in the order.A Special Investigating Team (SIT) is probing the matter..However, the probe is likely to be transferred, as the Court ordered the Chandigarh Administration and the Haryana government to suggest appropriate investigating officers, not below the rank of Superintendent of Police of a district, to conduct the investigation."Accordingly, this Court for requisitioning opinion of UT Administration and the State of Haryana, lists this matter on 01.10.2024," ordered the Court.The Court also impleaded the Central government through the Ministry of Home Affairs as a party to the suo motu case..Advocate General Gurminder Singh, Additional Advocate Generals JS Gill and Saurav Khurana and Senior Deputy Advocate General Salil Sabhlok represented the State of Punjab.Senior Standing Counsel Amit Jhanji with Additional Standing Counsel JS Chandail appeared for the Union Territory, Chandigarh.Senior Advocates RS Cheema, Vinod Ghai, RS Rai with Advocates AS Cheema, Satish Sharma, Arnav Ghai and Arjun Singh Rai appeared for the Punjab & Haryana High Court Bar Association, Chandigarh. Its Acting President Jasdev Singh was also present..[Read Order]