BB Desk
A menacing email warning of a bomb on the premises triggered evacuations at the Bombay and Delhi High Courts on Friday. Panic broke out as proceedings came to an abrupt halt and members were asked to leave.
After the email was received, the Chief Justice ordered the proceedings to be halted and the premises to be vacated immediately. The Bar Associations and the Advocates Associations too sent out messages instructing their member advocates to head out in wake of threat.
As the message spread, the judges rose from their chairs and left through a separate gate, followed by lawyers, litigants, and staff. Crowd began to pour out of the court by 1 p.m. Thereafter, bomb detection squads and sniffer dogs were deployed at the premises to conduct a detailed search and sanitisation. A number of lawyers and litigants were also seen waiting outside the court gates hoping the hearings would resume.
However, the bomb threats to both the Courts have turned out to be hoaxes. Meanwhile, a police officer in his statement given to the Indian Express has remarked, “Threat mails sent to both the courts could be the job of same individual who has been sending out such emails in Mumbai and surrounding areas for the past few months which mostly turn out to be hoaxes.”
The officer further added, “there seems to be a pattern as the threat mail is always sent from an Outlook ID. It mentions conspiracy theories involving some South Indian politicians, actors, and bureaucrats, which seems to be the case this time as well.”
