Friday, November 25 2005 10:52 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Mumbai: In view of unplanned security arrangements at the designated TADA court in the City Civil-Sessions Court Complex here, most of the reporters had to wait outside the court room when extradited gangster Abu Salem was produced for remand in the 1995 Pradeep Jain murder case yesterday (Nov 24, 2005).

The extradited gangster Abu Salem was produced before the special TADA Judge P V Bavkar after another TADA court, which is trying 1993 Mumbai bomb blast case granted a transit remand to Anti-Terrorist Squad of Mumbai Police, which was seeking the gangster's custody in the 1995 murder case.

Until Salem was brought to the court premises, TADA judge Bavkar's court was crowded with lawyers and litigants.

Only when the Chief Public Prosecutor Rohini Salien urged the court to ask "those not concerned with the case" to leave, which was endorsed by defence counsel Ashok Sarogi, the Judge ordered everybody except the lawyers out.

Outside the court the media protested vehemently, but the police didn't budge. They neither allowed a petition on behalf of mediapersons to be handed to the judge, urging for permission to go in.

Later, when angry reporters blamed Sarogi for the goof-up, he denied that he had sought to keep media out. "It was policemen's doing", he said.

Until now, media have had access to all the trials under the TADA.