Public access to the Kerala High Court will be regulated shortly considering the “security risks involved in providing free access to all” to the court complex.
What has prompted the judicial authorities to think of clamping immediate restrictions is the COVID-19 scare.
However, the restrictions will continue even after the period of vigil and only litigants will be allowed to enter the complex and that too with an authorisation from their lawyers. Even in that case, the litigants will be permitted to enter only the court hall where their cases are being considered.
The litigants who come to the court complex with the authorisation letters from the lawyers will have to produce it at the office of the Public Relations Officer, who in turn will verify the case number and other details. Later, the litigants will be provided with a photo-pass. The visitors will have to present themselves for a security check at the door of the court hall concerned. No heavy baggages would be permitted into the court complex, judicial sources said.
A safety audit of the court complex, notified as a high security zone, had highlighted the loopholes in the security system. The audit carried out by the State police had also identified the vulnerabilities, including the probability of terror attacks from militant groups from all sides of the building and from the coast. However, the report had concluded that there was no specific input regarding the possible attacks or threats to the complex.
Currently, there are such security restrictions in Madras High Court and the Supreme Court.
On a daily average, around 6,000 persons reach the building, including 1,800 members of the staff and lawyers. The present security check is limited to noting down the name and contact details of the visitors, who will then have to walk through the door-frame metal detector.
The security audit had also recommended the formation of a 438-member exclusive security group for manning the complex. Though the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) had expressed its willingness to provide its men, it wanted the State government to foot the salary bill.
The security committee of the Kerala High Court, which approved the security proposal, had forwarded it to the State government. The need for enhanced security system was raised at a meeting of Kerala Chief Justice with the Chief Minister. However, the proposal was yet to get the clearance of the State government, sources said.
It is estimated that the security arrangement would cost the exchequer ₹17.06 crore annually.