The Tamil Nadu government has asked the Supreme Court for relief from a Madras high court order directing it to put in place Central police (CISF) security worth Rs 16.6 crore at the Madras high court, reported the Times of India.

Madras HC Chief Justice Kishan Kaul and Justice TS Sivagnanam had on 30 October ordered the state government to deposit Rs 16.6 crore, within a week, with the central government for deploying a 650-personnel CISF contingent at the high court for six months, and ordered that the new security protocol should be in place on 16 November.

The Tamil Nadu government told the Supreme Court that lawyers and police on the Madras high court have no bad blood ‘as on date’ and that the problem lies in the 29 October 2009 administrative order which requires state police to get a prior permit before deploying forces. The government said that this takes away the state police’ free hand to act during law and order disturbances on court campuses.

“Had the administrative restraint been lifted, the state police authority would be in a better position to give better security than any central force on the high court campus,” the Tamil Nadu chief secretary told the court, it was reported.

The Madras high court has been suffering from disruptions and disturbance due to rallies, demonstrations, occupation of chief justice’s court and ruckus by lawyers for a few months now. Chief Justice of India H L Dattu had also taken note of the disturbances in the HC and had remarked about the ‘fear psychosis in the court halls’. Bomb hoaxes have also been received by the high court in the last few months.

The state government is opposing any central force to take either full or a part of security arrangements in the high court and has told the Supreme Court “It is not open to the high court to take away the powers of the state and entrust it to the central security...It would amount to encroachment of the powers of the government by another wing of the State - Judiciary.”

“Further it was recorded that deployment of central force would lead to jurisdictional issues and consequent problems, and the introduction of central police force would worsen the prevailing situation due to non-familiarity of local language,” the SLP stated, it was reported.