A man on Tuesday stabbed his wife inside a family court room in the Madras High Court premises. The incident took place in the afternoon and in front of the principal family court judge. Saravanan, who is a bus driver by profession, had carried a knife into the court premises. He used it to attack his estranged wife during the hearing of their divorce case which has been ongoing since 2009. However, he was caught by the lawyers and handed over to police after a thrashing.
Varalakshmi was taken to the Government Hospital, where her condition is said to be stable. He was subsequently handed over to the High Court police. The crime was committed in front of the judges in the open court which was jam-packed in the busy hours. The incident shows a breach of security as the litigants are subjected to a search on entering the court premises. While the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) takes care of the security of the Madras High Court, the security cover for the lower courts housed within the Court complex falls within the supervision of the state police.
The CISF presently only oversees the entry and exit of persons entering the Madras High Court within the same complex.
