A furious litigant hurled hydrochloric acid over three lawyers after a High Court ruling went against him, a jury heard today.
Unemployed Ashok Mahajan went berserk inside Court 11 of the Royal Courts of Justice as appeal judge Mr Justice Underhill delivered the unfavourable ruling against his race discrimination claim.
He threw a bottle of the highly corrosive liquid over barrister Richard Liddell, solicitor Claire White and trainee barrister Lucy Colter.
Miss Colter screamed in pain when she was hit in the eye and acid that landed on her leg burned through her tights, Southwark Crown Court heard. Indian-born Mahajan, of Wembley, north-west London, denies three counts of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm with intent...
Fumes filled the court, leaving staff struggling for breath and forcing the judge to flee, the jury heard.
In a tape recording of the incident, 54-year-old Mahajan can be heard hurling abuse at the lawyers after the ruling, calling them 'f****** hire dogs' and ranting 'there's no f****** justice in this stinking court'.
Describing her ordeal, pupil barrister Lucy Colter told police he sprayed the acid at them 'quite few times to make sure he got us'.
'The liquid rained around us and was all up my right leg and over my right arm.'
Philip Bennetts, prosecuting, told jurors: 'It also went in her mouth and right eye. Her worst injuries were to her eye.
'She suffered a mild corrosive burn to her eye. She also had two burns to her left and right thighs, the acid burning her tights.
'Fortunately she received immediate first aid treatment at court and subsequent treatment has resulted in no permanent damage.'
He said security staff were quickly on the scene and Mahajan was detained.
When Mahajan was asked what he was trying to do, he allegedly replied: 'I was trying to blind them... they're all Nazis.'
The court heard the incident had its roots in a failed race discrimination action against employment agency AOC Ltd and Kingston Primary Care Trust.
Following that case Mahajan then brought a negligence claim against his former solicitors Hodge Jones and Allen.
When it was struck out in January last year, Mahajan appealed and a new hearing, where he represented himself.
Mr Justice Underhill later told how he was forced to flee his courtroom after an unsuccessful appellant launched an acid attack on a team of lawyers.
He had not finished his High Court judgement against Mahajan when he got up and made to walk out of the room.
The judge said Mahajan appeared 'upset' and 'agitated' at the verdict.
He told the jury: 'He got up - which is unusual because normally the parties sit until the judgement is over - and began to leave the court.
'I said something to him, I can't remember exactly, basically asked him to stay because I hadn't quite finished.
'I anticipated there would be an application from the counsel for the other party but he went on and went for the left hand exit.
'That took him past where counsel for the defence was sitting and the two ladies who were with him.'
Mr Justice Underhill said: 'As he passed them he said something, I didn't quite here what it was, and he threw some liquid over them. continues here
Unemployed Ashok Mahajan went berserk inside Court 11 of the Royal Courts of Justice as appeal judge Mr Justice Underhill delivered the unfavourable ruling against his race discrimination claim.
He threw a bottle of the highly corrosive liquid over barrister Richard Liddell, solicitor Claire White and trainee barrister Lucy Colter.
Miss Colter screamed in pain when she was hit in the eye and acid that landed on her leg burned through her tights, Southwark Crown Court heard. Indian-born Mahajan, of Wembley, north-west London, denies three counts of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm with intent...
Fumes filled the court, leaving staff struggling for breath and forcing the judge to flee, the jury heard.
In a tape recording of the incident, 54-year-old Mahajan can be heard hurling abuse at the lawyers after the ruling, calling them 'f****** hire dogs' and ranting 'there's no f****** justice in this stinking court'.
Describing her ordeal, pupil barrister Lucy Colter told police he sprayed the acid at them 'quite few times to make sure he got us'.
'The liquid rained around us and was all up my right leg and over my right arm.'
Philip Bennetts, prosecuting, told jurors: 'It also went in her mouth and right eye. Her worst injuries were to her eye.
'She suffered a mild corrosive burn to her eye. She also had two burns to her left and right thighs, the acid burning her tights.
'Fortunately she received immediate first aid treatment at court and subsequent treatment has resulted in no permanent damage.'
He said security staff were quickly on the scene and Mahajan was detained.
When Mahajan was asked what he was trying to do, he allegedly replied: 'I was trying to blind them... they're all Nazis.'
The court heard the incident had its roots in a failed race discrimination action against employment agency AOC Ltd and Kingston Primary Care Trust.
Following that case Mahajan then brought a negligence claim against his former solicitors Hodge Jones and Allen.
When it was struck out in January last year, Mahajan appealed and a new hearing, where he represented himself.
Mr Justice Underhill later told how he was forced to flee his courtroom after an unsuccessful appellant launched an acid attack on a team of lawyers.
He had not finished his High Court judgement against Mahajan when he got up and made to walk out of the room.
The judge said Mahajan appeared 'upset' and 'agitated' at the verdict.
He told the jury: 'He got up - which is unusual because normally the parties sit until the judgement is over - and began to leave the court.
'I said something to him, I can't remember exactly, basically asked him to stay because I hadn't quite finished.
'I anticipated there would be an application from the counsel for the other party but he went on and went for the left hand exit.
'That took him past where counsel for the defence was sitting and the two ladies who were with him.'
Mr Justice Underhill said: 'As he passed them he said something, I didn't quite here what it was, and he threw some liquid over them. continues here
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