Chennai cops’ ‘best’ not enough for handling lawyers

Chennai: The city police’s ‘best’ security norms seem to be inadequate when it comes to ‘handling’ lawyers at Madras high court. Despite police claiming they are in control, earlier occasions had proved that they had problems when confronted with advocates. “A fool-proof system can be in place only if everybody cooperates,” a senior officer said.

The state government’s announcement that high court premises will be a high security zone is certainly going to make police take security concerns more seriously. It means an enhanced security measure, denial of free access, more access control, verification of identity, entry of only authorised persons and maintaining certain number of personnel on duty at all times. “Every person in the court premises will be accounted for,” the police said.It may be noted that a Union home ministry’s circular of 2007 had said high courts in all states should be declared “ high security zone.”

State police sources said every time police made an elaborate security plan for the high court, after the initial hype, the court stopped showing interest following lawyers’ representations.

As per a comprehensive security plan for the high court envisaged five years ago, there were 16 high-speed 360 degree zoom CCTV cameras, baggage scanner, hand held metal detector, explosives’ vapour detector apart from nearly 400 police. “The system can be put back in place at any point of time, but everybody should cooperate,” an officer said.

Another officer who had spent more than three years in managing the high court premises says, “I feel only 10 per cent of them are unruly in nature. But we should be able to handle them with diplomacy and patience. Deployment of CISF may not be a good idea.” he added.