Sakina Tashrifwala
Published on: November 3, 2022 at 20:05 IST
The central government told the Delhi High Court on Thursday that adequate provisions had been made to ensure former Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy’s safety and security at his private property in the national capital.
“Security agencies are satisfied that suitable provisions have been taken for safeguarding the petitioner’s safety and security, given that he is a Z category protectee,” Additional Solicitor General Sanjay Jain told the court.
The ASG made the submission before Justice Yashwant Varma’s bench in response to an application filed by Swamy in a pending matter involving security arrangements at his private property.
Last Monday, the court ordered the Central Government to produce a “more complete affidavit” to ensure the court that the former Rajya Sabha MP’s security worries about his private lodging in the national capital “would be adequately addressed.”
Following the Union’s commitment on Thursday, Swamy’s senior counsel filed that he will depart the government housing and turn it over to the Estate Office by Saturday.
“In light of the foregoing, the proceedings on the current application will be closed,” Justice Varma ruled.
“Govt which two days ago said something else now told the Delhi High Court that Govt will provide full attention and ensure Z Security preparations in Nizamuddin house as per Yellow Book,” Swamy tweeted after the hearing.
Background
On January 15, 2016, Swamy—who has been given Z category protection by the Centre—was given government residence for a five-year period. Due to an assumed threat, he was given a residence in Lutyens Delhi.
After that, Swamy won a seat in the Rajya Sabha, where his tenure ended on April 24 of current year.
Due to the passage of time while Swamy was a member of the upper house, the government residence stayed with him long after the allotment ended. He just received a request to vacate the location after his term as a Rajya Sabha MP expired.
Later, Swamy filed a plea with the High Court requesting that the arrangements that were initially supplied to him be kept in his favour due to the security precautions that must be made for a Z category protectee.
Previous Petition
Despite the fact that the original allocation was made for a term of five years, which has since passed, Justice Varma dismissed Swamy’s petition on September 14 because Swamy failed to provide any evidence that would have made the allocation of government housing to a Z class protectee mandatory or necessary.
However, Swamy has his own residence premises to which he can relocate, according to Additional Solicitor General Sanjay Jain, speaking on behalf of the Centre.
He also claimed that security services must take all necessary precautions in the aforementioned premises to ensure Swamy’s safety and security.
The only thing left for the government to do, according to the court, is to make sure that adequate security measures are put in place on Swamy’s private property.
Swamy claimed in his suit, which was dismissed today, that the Centre had failed to establish security measures at his Nizamuddin property despite the ASG’s pledge to the court.