The Delhi High Court ordered the Delhi government and the police to develop a very detailed and all-rounded action plan to deal with bomb threats and other emergencies related to the city. The court laid emphasis that the action plan should clearly entail the Standard Operating Procedure outlining duties of all parties involved, from law enforcement and school management to municipal authorities, in order to ensure smooth coordination and effective implementation during such incidents.
Justice Sanjeev Narula said that bomb threats, especially hoaxes through high-end means like the dark web and VPNs, are a worldwide problem and not specific to Delhi or India alone. Bomb threats present an identical challenge before law enforcing agencies around the world. The court order followed a petition complaining about the repeated sending of bomb threat e-mails to schools in Delhi, which pointed to the failure of the government and police to act towards safeguarding against these risks.
The counsel for the petitioner, advocate Arpit Bhargava, contended that the inaction on time and adequacy by the authorities was placing children and teachers, staff, and others within the school at risk. The court acknowledged the concern of the petitioner but also emphasized that the expectation of completely eradicating such threats is not realistic, considering the intricacies of modern digital technology.
Justice Narula stressed that law enforcement agencies need to keep themselves in focus not only on investigating these incidents but also running ahead of emerging threats in this digital era, often helped along by anonymity. On one hand, accountability of the offender is a valid point; however, the court felt it was practicable to look for such a foolproof mechanism to prevent all such threats effectively. The authorities need to use deterrent measures and ensure that such incidents have serious consequences, communicating the message well to the potential offenders.
The court also observed that while strategizing operational strategies is beyond its purview, it is imperative for the administration to complete and execute their prepared plans as soon as possible instead of letting it continue in the formative stage. The Delhi government has already taken some initial steps, but these have to be pursued with greater urgency.
In this regard, the court directed the authorities to consult with all stake-holders, including the representatives of schools, law enforcement agencies, municipal authorities, and other state departments to work out an integrated action plan to be finalized and circulated to all concerned. The court further advised that regular training to teachers, students, and other stakeholders of the schools be held to ensure the successful implementation of the above recommendation.
Earlier, the Delhi Police had told the court that there are five bomb disposal squads (BDS) and 18 bomb detection teams to look after over 4,600 schools in the capital. Besides, guidelines for handling bomb threats were issued by police and nodal officers were deployed to coordinate the bombardment disposal. Also, 120 mock drills in schools were conducted between January 2023 and May 2024 to train staff as well as students in such emergencies.
The petition was initially filed in 2023 after a hoax bomb threat was received by Delhi Public School (DPS) Mathura Road, highlighting the growing concern over the safety of educational institutions in the city.
With inputs from PTI.