Order reveals detailsof courtroom brawl at Tis Hazari Court

A courtroom brawl erupted at Tis Hazari Courts during a hearing, prompting CJI Surya Kant to demand an investigation and security for the injured.

An order passed by the presiding judge on the day of the incident has shed light on the sequence of events and the chaos that unfolded inside a courtroom at Tis Hazari Courts where a brawl erupted between legal teams during a hearing last week, prompting Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant on Monday to take a stern view of the incident.

The incident occurred around 10.15am in Tis Hazari Courtroom No. 179. (Sanchit Khanna/HT PHOTO)

Additional sessions judge (fast track court) Harjeet Singh Jaspal, in a February 7 order, stated the incident occurred around 10.15am in Tis Hazari Courtroom No. 179. The judge had briefly stepped out and returned to find a “fist battle” underway, according to the order. “Blows were being exchanged from both sides despite intervention of the court and court staff,” the order noted, adding that the altercation continued for nearly 15 minutes.

The judge said the situation was eventually brought under control after court staff and the local police in-charge intervened. The accused, along with their lawyers, were subsequently escorted out of the courtroom, as per the order.

The dispute arose during a hearing on a discharge application in a 2011 rape case. According to the order, an unidentified person allegedly slapped the accused’s counsel, advocate Vikas Kumar, triggering the violence. The accused’s daughter claimed she was manhandled and injured, while the complainant’s counsel alleged that he was abused, threatened, and left with a torn shirt and blood stains.

A police constable present filmed the incident, and the video was forwarded for FIR registration. The judge adjourned the case to April 18.

Medical reports, seen by HT, showed Kumar sustained simple injuries, the accused’s daughter had abrasions and a bite mark, and the complainant’s counsel suffered injuries to his nose and eye. Police registered cross-FIRs after both sides submitted assault complaints.

Following the incident, advocate Kumar approached the Supreme Court. Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, calling such incidents “gunda raj,” directed him to approach the Delhi High Court. Taking suo motu cognisance, Delhi High Court chief justice DK Upadhyaya directed Delhi Police to conduct a fair, impartial investigation and provide security to the injured lawyer. He also sought a comprehensive report from the Tis Hazari principal sessions judge.

The case involves allegations of rape by a woman against her son’s former father-in-law. The courtroom was attended by the accused and his daughter, represented by advocate Kumar, while the complainant’s son, also an advocate, appeared for the opposing side. Police noted the accused’s daughter and the complainant’s son are divorced and involved in a separate ongoing dispute.