A man tried to end his life on the premises of Karnataka High Court on Wednesday by allegedly slitting his throat with a knife in front of Chief Justice Nilay Vipinchandra Anjaria in Court Hall One, police said.

According to the police, Srinivas, who reportedly hails from Mysuru, handed over a file to security staff at the entrance of Court Hall One, and before anyone could realise what was happening, he had slit his own throat in the presence of Chief Justice Anjaria.

The security personnel responded immediately and rushed Srinivas to Bowring Hospital, where he is now under treatment, a senior police officer said.

"We don't know why he took such an extreme step. He entered Court Hall One and slit his throat with a knife. Our security staff deployed inside saw it happen and immediately rescued him. He is hospitalised," he said.

No suicide note was found at the spot, he added.

Chief Justice Anjaria expressed concern about the security lapse on the high court premises and asked those in charge how the man managed to being a sharp object inside court. He also ordered police to conduct a panchnama (record of findings and evidence) of the spot and told them not to touch the knife.

The contents of the file that Srinivas gave to the security staff are unknown, and the court has said it would not check the documents as it was not presented to court by a designated advocate.

The high court also said that the authorities must not receive any documents without the court's order.

Police are still ascertaining the reason for the man's suicide attempt and are waiting to record his statement once he is declared fit by doctors.

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