The Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court on Monday dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the grant of Z+ VVIP security cover to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and its leaders, including chief Mohan Bhagwat, in the case Lalan Kishor Singh v. Union of India.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Anil S Kilor termed the petition a “motivated” one and an abuse of the legal process.
The PIL, filed by Lalan Kishor Singh, relied on a Supreme Court ruling to argue that Z+ security cover should only be granted when there is a credible threat perception. The petitioner contended that public funds should not be used to provide security to an organization like the RSS and sought directions to the Ministry of Home Affairs to recover the expenses from Bhagwat.
However, the Court observed that the petitioner failed to provide personal details beyond stating he was an Indian citizen and did not disclose the source of his information. It further noted that the plea appeared to be based solely on newspaper reports, without the due research required under PIL rules.
“We do not find any public interest involved in this writ petition marked as PIL. Quite apparently, this PIL is a motivated petition and amounts to an abuse of the process of law,” the bench stated while dismissing the case.
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.