Armstrong murder case: After bombs brought to court premises, Madras HC seeks security suggestions from stakeholders

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court invited suggestions from the advocates associations, police and Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) to strengthen the security of the court campus as a country-made bomb was allegedly brought into the court.

A division bench of Justices SM Subramaniam and N Jothiraman heard a batch of cases seeking to quash the Goondas Act provisions slapped against the accused booked in the murder case of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) state leader K Armstrong.

Additional Advocate General (AAG) P Kumaresan submitted the status report on the investigation done regarding the allegations of country-made bombs brought into the court and handed over to the accused connected with the Armstrong murder case.

AAG submitted CCTV screen grabs of the persons who brought the bombs concealed in a lunch bag. It was submitted that the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu suspended the six advocates who brought the bombs.

The counsel for the petitioners objected to the allegation and stated no proof was unearthed by the investigation agency to establish the allegation.

After all the submissions, the bench invited all the stakeholders, including advocacy associations, police, and CISF, to provide suggestions to amplify the security of the Madras High Court campus.

"What if the bomb, which was allegedly brought to the court, had blasted? How many lives would we have lost, and what if the blast damaged the statue of BR Ambedkar?" Justice SM Subramaniam asked, and the bench invited the opinions of stakeholders to arrive at a solution to ensure at least a minimal security check.

"We have to sensitize the advocates and police in this regard," the bench observed, and the court also advised the advocates to cooperate with the police for the checking as it is a sensitive issue. The matter was posted to January 29, to arrive at a solution.