Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana high court has asked senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Randeep Singh Surjewala to furnish any material evidence justifying his continued need for security. The directive comes in response to an application by the ministry of home affairs (MHA) seeking court approval to revoke his security cover, citing an absence of any current threat perception.“The non-applicant/petitioner (Randeep Surjewala), within a period of four weeks from the date of passing of this order, shall submit all the material before the apt authorities concerned, and thereupon, after affording due opportunity of hearing to him, the authorities concerned shall take a decision thereof, most expeditiously,” Justice Kuldeep Tiwari ordered.The Centre had approached the court seeking permission to withdraw Surjewala’s security.Arun Gosain, senior panel counsel for the MHA, informed the high court that a fresh assessment by the central security agency did not indicate any specific threat to the Congress leader, prompting the MHA’s proposal to withdraw his security cover.In response, Surjewala’s counsel argued that his client continues to face a threat and wishes to appear before the authorities to present material supporting his claim.After hearing both sides, Justice Tiwari granted Surjewala permission to appear before the authorities. “He will be at liberty to submit all the relevant materials, deemed to be necessary, to substantiate his threat perception,” the HC observed in its order released on Monday. The next hearing is on Sept 30.The Centre’s need to seek court approval comes from a March 2017 order by a single bench of the high court, headed by Justice Amit Rawal. The order mandated that should the Centre or state decide to alter Surjewala’s security category, court permission must first be obtained. Justice Rawal’s directive came on Surjewala’s plea seeking directions for CISF security cover on account of imminent threats.The court had initially disposed of the matter after the Centre decided to provide Y+ category security to Surjewala. However, due to Surjewala’s apprehension that the govt might withdraw security without justification or proper threat assessment, the high court had instructed both the Centre and the state govt to obtain prior court permission for any changes to his security category.MSID:: 122817116 413 |
