Chandigarh, December 20:
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has requested media outlets to avoid mentioning the names of judges while covering court proceedings, orders, and judgments.
The directive, as per sources, primarily pertains to cases of a “sensitive” nature.
As per the reports, the High Court Registrar General issued this guidance through an official communication addressed to reporters covering the court.
The communication stated: “In the interest of security of Hon’ble Judges of this Court, the correspondents be asked not to publish the names of Hon’ble Judge(s) while reporting proceedings, judgments and orders of this Court.”
The move follows a concerning incident in September when the personal security officer (PSO) of a High Court judge had his weapon taken by an individual who later used it to commit suicide at the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
The High Court had taken notice of the event and initiated a suo motu case, leading to a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Anil Kshetarpal ordering heightened security for the judge. Additionally, Punjab Police was removed from the judge’s security detail.
While the timing of this advisory has sparked speculation, it remains unclear whether it was directly influenced by the September incident.
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