The Bombay High Court has dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), challenging the Z+ VVIP security cover provided to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its leaders, including chief Mohan Bhagwat. The court observed that the petition appeared to be ‘motivated’ rather than based on genuine public interest, reported Bar and Bench.”It was a ‘motivated petition’ and an abuse of the process of law,” said division bench justices Shree Chandrashekhar and Anil S. Kilor.
High-level security must be backed by a credible threat perception
The PIL, filed by Lalan Kishor Singh, questioned the provision of Z+ security cover to RSS functionaries. The petitioner argued that such high-level security must be backed by a credible threat perception, citing a ruling of the Supreme Court of India.He also contended that public funds should not be spent on providing security to an organisation like the RSS and sought directions to recover the expenses from Bhagwat.“Moreover, the public money cannot be wasted on the expenses incurred for providing security cover to an organization like RSS,” Singh’s counsel argued.However, the court noted significant shortcomings in the petition. It observed that Singh had disclosed no personal credentials beyond stating he was an Indian citizen and had not revealed the source of his information.The bench also pointed out that the petitioner appeared to have approached the court based solely on newspaper reports and had not carried out the research required under the relevant PIL norms.”This PIL is a motivated petition”“We do not find any public interest involved in this writ petition marked as PIL. Quite apparently, this PIL is a motivated petition,” the bench said in its order while dismissing the PIL.Advocate AR Ingole represented the petitioner, while Deputy Solicitor General Kartik Shukul appeared for the Union government. Government Pleader DV Chauhan, along with Additional Government Pleader NS Rao, represented the state authorities.
