Following objections by counsel for the accused and the Special Public Prosecutor in the 2G spectrum allocation case over transfer of the trial to the Tihar Jail court complex, Delhi High Court Acting Chief Justice A.K. Sikri on Wednesday directed the special court conducting the trial to resume the proceedings at the Patiala House courts till a suitable venue was found.
Only on Tuesday, the High Court ordered the shifting of the trial venue to the Tihar jail.
While staying the administrative order of shifting the trial , the Chief Justice asked the Registrar-General of the High Court to find a suitable place for shifting the trial venue as the present one was proving too small a place to accommodate lawyers and reporters.
Later in the day, the Registrar-General, along with Mr. Saini and lawyers for the accused, surveyed four possible venues — Pragati Maidan, Vigyan Bhavan and two other spaces at the Patiala House district courts — for shifting the trial.
Also under consideration is a proposal to enlarge the space of the present courtroom by dismantling the wooden partition between Mr. Saini's court and the adjacent court of Additional District Judge Ina Malhotra.
At a meeting with the Chief Justice and senior brother Judges, lawyers for the accused said that previously the trial of only some TADA and murder cases were conducted at the Tihar jail court complex due to security reasons. This was a normal trial and there was no such security threat, they submitted.
They also complained about the long distance they will have to travel to attend the trial. Special Public Prosecutor U. U. Lalit complained about the conveyance problem he would face to visit the Tihar jail court complex.
The Indira Gandhi assassination and the Baba Gurbachan Singh (Sant Nirankari Mission head) assassination cases were conducted in Tihar.
