Paramilitary troopers escort lawyers as they leave the court in Lucknow on Thursday. (Reuters)

Lucknow, Sept. 30: Lawyers and litigants attending today’s verdict were asked to remove their shoes before entering the courtroom lest anybody did a Jarnail Singh, the journalist who had thrown his footwear at P. Chidambaram.

They were also asked to deposit their cellphones outside the courtroom to avoid the possibility of lawyers sending “wrong versions” of the verdict to hacks waiting outside.

Such were the security arrangements outside the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court that even a bird would not have dared to fly over it.

Security personnel cut off all roads leading to the court complex in the early hours today. Vehicles were not allowed beyond a point. Passersby were frisked thoroughly. Although the city bustled with business, an undercurrent of fear was palpable.

The cops growled at children cycling around and asked them not to get anywhere near the court complex.

Orders had been issued to all local newspapers to ask everyone except lawyers to stay away from the court.

Even among them, only the lawyers associated with the case were allowed to enter the court premises. Cops with riot shields and carbines stood guard outside the court and the neighbouring areas.

Mediapersons were bunched together into a hastily contrived media centre inside the district collector’s office adjacent to the court.

There was a sudden bustle when at 3.30pm, the district magistrate rushed in with several security guards surrounding him. But he only said the verdict would not be announced before 4.30pm. The judges began pronouncing the verdict at 3.45. As soon as the police whisked the judges away after the verdict, the media briefing began.

Hindutva elements hogged the centrestage after the district magistrate cited judicial norms and refused to read out the judgment. Lawyer after lawyer gave their own spin to the tale. In the melee, a near-stampede followed. For hours, no one could get hold of a copy of the verdict.