By IANS,
New Delhi: Delhi High Court judges and lawyers Thursday mourned the death of 12 people in a blast at the court’s gate a day earlier.
There was a Full Court Reference that condemned the ghastly act and condoled the deaths.
Chief Justice Dipak Misra was joined by all the judges and lawyers in observing a two-minute silence.
Chief Justice Misra said the explosion was intended to paralyse the functioning of the courts. “But because of complete support of members of the bar and the bench, we continued work. On Wednesday, we suspended work till 2 p.m.,” he said.
“The loss of victims cannot be redeemed. Agony and loss is difficult to assuage. We express our deepest homage to the departed souls,” said Misra.
History shall stand testimony to the bravery and courage of the bar, the bench, litigants and public, he said.
Members of the Delhi High Court Bar Association (DHBA), the Supreme Court Bar Association, the New Delhi Bar Association and most of the senior lawyers also assembled at 3 p.m. in the chief justice’s court to pay homage to the victims.
Additional Solicitor General and DHBA president A.S. Chandhiok said that it was an unusual gathering.
“There should never be an occasion like this anywhere in the world. Cries of people still echo in my ears,” said Chandhiok.
“Whom should we blame? And for what? In the words of the chief justice of India, it was an attack on the judiciary. It was not just an attack with a view to spreading terror but also challenging our security strength in broad daylight,” he added.
“This needs to be answered by the investigating agencies showing their powers,” said Chandhiok.
Rakesh Tiku, chairman of the Bar Council of Delhi, said: “This was a ghastly act done by terrorist. They had bigger plans. There are chances of more attacks in future. One cannot have foolproof security system, but can minimise such incidents.”
“The last incident (blast outside the high court’s another gate May 25) should have been an eye-opener. There is a lack of CCTVs and metal detectors. We have seven district courts. We should be concerned about the security there too,” he said.