Man slits his throat in front of Karnataka CJ, judge

BENGALURU: In a shocking incident, a 51-year-old litigant attempted suicide by slitting his throat with a surgical knife in front of a division bench of the High Court of Karnataka, comprising Chief Justice NV Anjaria and Justice Dr HB Prabhakara Sastry on Wednesday.

Chinnam Srinivas from Vijayanagar in Mysuru slit his throat around 1.10pm just before the division bench rose for the day for a function in honour of Dr Sastry, who retired the same day. Soon after the incident, the access to live streaming of the court proceedings was withdrawn.

The incident shocked the judges, staff members and a few advocates who were in the court hall. Expressing concern over the incident, the judges sought to know how the man entered the court hall with the knife, which is a matter of security concern. The judges immediately summoned policemen attached to the high court security division and directed them to shift the injured man to hospital.

Srinivas had filed a cheating complaint in Mysuru after he was reportedly cheated of Rs 93 lakh by his partners in a residential apartment project. The complaint was filed against three persons, including a woman from Hyderabad. However, a single-judge bench quashed the FIR in June 2023.

Police sources said on Wednesday Srinivas allegedly carried a file related to his case to place it before the Chief Justice directly without following due procedure. He entered the court hall, went near the podium where the judges were seated and handed over the file to the staff there. When the staff sought details, he slit his throat. He is said to have undergone heart surgeries twice.

“The man, who attempted suicide, is receiving treatment at Bowring Hospital and his condition is stable,” Dr Manoj Kumar, Director-cum-Dean, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Medical and Research Institution