A public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Delhi High Court seeking directions to ensure the safety and security of the prime minister. The petition, filed by Ashish Kumar, seeks a declaration that all authorities – civil or military—shall act under the supervision of the Special Protection Group (SPG) in matters of security of the prime minister and his immediate family members.
The PIL will be heard by a bench headed by Chief Justice DN Patel on Monday January 24. The petitioner has claimed that he filed the PIL in view of media reports on a security breach during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Punjab earlier this month. In a country that has witnessed the assassination of two prime ministers, such security lapses pose a “great threat to national security” and also puts the life of the common citizens at risk, the petitioner has argued.
“It came to the knowledge of the petitioner via media reports that there has been a breach in the security of the Hon'ble Prime Minister during his recent visit to the border state of Punjab on 05.01.2022, which, inter-alia, is further evidence from the fact that his convoy was stuck and was made to wait on a flyover for more than 20 minutes, thereby, exposing and putting his life at risk to a terrorist attack,” the petition filed through lawyer V Govinda Ramanan has said.
“The Govt. of Punjab, including the Police officials of the state instead of coming to the aid of the Respondent No.2 i.e., Special Protection Group in terms of Section 14 of the SPG Act, 1988 were instead creating obstacles to the proximate security of the Hon'ble Prime Minister,” the petition alleged.
The petitioner has submitted that the SPG was created with the sole purpose of ensuring the safety and security of the prime minister and all authorities are therefore duty-bound to aid their functions. The security of the Prime Minister “cannot be left to the discretion” of the states and therefore the absolute superintendence in matters of his safety should be exercised by the SPG, the plea said.
On January 5, the prime minister's convoy was stranded on a flyover due to a blockade by protesters in Ferozepur after which he returned from poll-bound Punjab without attending any event, including a rally. On January 12, the Supreme Court has, on a petition seeking a thorough investigation into the matter, appointed a five-member committee headed by former apex court judge Justice Indu Malhotra to probe the security breach.
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