UP COURTS’ SECURITYLawyers will soon have to swipe ID cards, litigants submit proof

LUCKNOW: Lawyers entering the court premises will soon have to swipe their electronic identity (ID) cards, issued by the Bar Council and Bar Association, on the

LUCKNOW: Lawyers entering the court premises will soon have to swipe their electronic identity (ID) cards, issued by the Bar Council and Bar Association, on the ID card scanners installed at the gates of courts, a state government official said.

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Litigants will have to submit copies of Aadhaar card or any other identity proof for entering the courts, he said.

On the direction of the Allahabad high court, the state government is preparing a comprehensive security plan will for the courts in the 75 districts of the state.

After the killing of an accused inside a courtroom in Bijnore in December last year, the high court had directed the state government to prepare a plan for security of courts.

Additional chief secretary (home) Awanish Kumar Awasthi on Thursday said a detailed plan for security of the courts is being prepared. The district magistrates and superintendents of police of all the districts have directed to submit their work-plan regarding courts’ security in respective districts.

Preparations for courts’ security in various districts were reviewed through video conferencing. The state government has ordered installation of CCTVs, security gadgets, construction of the boundary wall and separate entry gates for litigants, checking of passes of litigants, removal of encroachments and enlisting of vendors on the court premises, Awasthi said.

Speaking on Thursday’s bomb attack on the Lucknow court premises, Awasthi said it was a fallout of rivalry between two groups of lawyers.

Also, on the direction of the high court, district administration officers were directed to hold meetings with judges, lawyers and office-bearers of bar associations and brief them about the security arrangements. The suggestions of the bar associations will be included in the security plan, he said.

Principal secretary, law, JP Singh said chairman of the UP Bar Council has given his nod to the security plan of the state government.

The complete security plan will be implemented in all UP courts within two to three months, he said.

Law minister Brijesh Pathak said the security plan of the court was being reviewed by chief secretary, additional chief secretary (home) and principal secretary, law.

The high court order on courts’ security will be implemented as per schedule, Pathak said.