Man attempts suicide in front of Chief Justice in HC

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: In a major security breach, an accused carried a sharp object inside the Hall-1 of the High Court of Karnataka, using which he attempted to slit his own throat in front of the Division Bench headed by the Chief Justice on Wednesday.

The incident took place in the afternoon around 1 pm when the judicial proceedings of a case against a 51-year-old accused was underway before the judges in the High Court.

According to sources, the Bench comprising Chief Justice NV Anjaria and Justice HB Prabhakara Sastry was hearing a petition related to mines and minerals listed at serial number 26 of the cause list of the day.

The man, who has been identified by the police as Srinivas C, came close to the platform where the court officers sit in front of the podium where the judges sit.

He kept some papers related to certain litigation on the table in front of the court officers and slit his throat and neck using a sharp object that he had brought inside the premises.

The Bench was engaged in hearing the arguments of the advocate for the petitioner and the government advocate on the petition listed at serial number 26 when the man resorted to these acts, the sources said.

The man appeared to have uttered something to the court officer and the judges before cutting, inflicting selfinjuries.

Following this, the Chief Justice summoned the police personnel and asked them to take the man to the doctor immediately as he was bleeding.

He was rushed to Bowring hospital in an ambulance for treatment. Justice Sastry asked how a man could enter the court hall despite the tight security for carrying out checks and wanted to know what kind of sharp object the man possessed.

He told the court officers not to touch the papers that the man had kept on the table. Meanwhile, the Chief Justice summoned the Registrar General and directed that the incident be referred to the jurisdictional police as per the procedure.

As the man was able to walk, the police quickly escorted him outside the court hall.

The Bench then adjourned the hearing on the remaining five petitions listed on the cause list to enable the police to follow the procedure as a government advocate said that the police had to conduct the spot inspection.

According to some of the lawyers present in the court, the man appeared to be a litigant with a pending case, but it could not be ascertained what type of the case.

He appeared to have said something before injuring himself with a small, sharp object. Though the Court staff could not immediately establish his identity or his case, the police have said that his name is Srinivas C.

Though the proceedings of Court Hall-1 were live on the High Court’s YouTube channel on Wednesday, the man’s actions were not visible to viewers as the cameras installed for the videoconference system in the court hall were audio-tracking cameras, which constantly switch focus on speakers based on sound receivers in the mics.

The High Court’s administration subsequently restricted the public’s access to the recorded proceedings.

Later, the court hall was cleaned and was readied for the pre-scheduled official function to bid farewell to Justice Sastry, who retired from service on Wednesday.

The Vidhana Police are still trying to find out why the man attempt to die by suicide and are waiting to record his statement once he is declared fit by doctors.