SIMI men escape: HC orders CRPF security for 3 judges

The threat perception to the three judges was brought to the notice of the court while it was hearing a petition filed by Ranjana Agnihorti,one of the petitioners in the title suit,who had sought security for herself. The matter was raised by advocate H S Jain who appeared on behalf of Agnihotri.

Jain said he informed the court that the security threat to judges and advocates associated with title suits had increased manifold since the SIMI activists,who had recced the Lucknow bench of the high court,escaped from jail on September 30.

The police had said the activists had confessed after their arrest in June last year that they had planned attacks on the three judges.

The bench,which comprised Justices Devi Prasad Singh and Devendra Kumar Upadhyay,observed,“We have also been informed that in the Punjab and Haryana High Court,CRPF personnel have been deployed for ensuring security to Hon’ble judges. We are not concerned with all the judges but only three Judges who decided the Ramjanma Bhumi-Babri Masjid case. To cope up with the imminent threat to their life,it shall be appropriate for the Government of India to deploy CRPF at their respective residences as security measure which shall be subject to further order passed by this court”.

The court also directed the Additional Director General of Police (Security) to submit a fresh report in under the changed circumtances with regard to the threat perception to Judges S U Khan,Sudhir Agarwal and DV Sharma and the lawyers.

The court also directed the Intelligence Bureau to submit a report with regard to the threat perception to judges and the lawyers.