New Delhi India January 24 ANI A plea was made in the Delhi High Court for a determination to declare that the Special Protection Group SPG shall have absolute power of superintendence for the purpose of discharging its functions in view of the provisions of the 1988 SPG Act.
The bench of Justice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh said on Monday that the matter was already seized by the Supreme Court and a 'Commission' has been appointed by the SC. The matter was adjourned by the Court on April 30, 2022.
The plea sought direction from the Ministry of Home Affairs MHA to bring in appropriate amendments to the provisions of the SPG Act of 1988 in order to ensure that the security of the Prime Minister is ensured at all times.
The plea stated that the SPG can only seek assistance from the authorities and has no power of superintendence, which is necessary for the proximate security of the Prime Minister, given the recent lapse breach that took place because of the colossal incompetence of the Punjab police.
The petitioner, Ashish Kumar, through Advocate Govinda Ramanan, stated that in view of the incident in Punjab, Section 14 of the 1988 SPG Act lacks the teeth to ensure the absolute security or protection of the Prime Minister of India.
The petitioner stated that for the absolute proximate security of the Prime Minister and his immediate family members, all the authorities should be appointed in accordance with Section 14 of the Special Protection Group Act, 1988, as per the directions or under the supervision of the Director or any member of the Special Protection Group, whenever directed or called upon to ensure the proximate security of the Prime Minister and his immediate family members, while discharging their duties or functions in terms of the SPG Act, 1988.
The petition also stated that the life of the prime minister is directly linked to national security and that such a threat to his life will have serious consequences for the whole country and will be further violative of the rights as guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.