Diksha Karhade
News Editor
Nagpur : A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court, demanding that the cost of the ‘Z-Plus VVIP’ security cover currently being provided to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Chief Mohan Bhagwat and the RSS headquarters in Nagpur be recovered directly from Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat himself.
Social activist Lalan Kishore Singh filed this petition through Advocate Ashwin Ingole. A division bench comprising Justice Anil Kilore and Justice Raj Wakode has scheduled a hearing on this petition for Monday.
As stated in the petition, the petitioners have argued that the Central Government and the concerned departments are providing the highest level of security—funded by taxpayers’ money—to an organization that is ‘unregistered.’
The petition cites a Supreme Court verdict delivered on February 27, 2023.
In that verdict—which pertained to the security of industrialist Mukesh Ambani—it was clarified that even if security is provided under specific circumstances, the entire cost thereof must be borne by the concerned individual or organization.
The Central Government, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), and the Finance Department of the Government of Maharashtra have been named as respondents in the petition. All eyes are now fixed on the stance the Court will adopt regarding this matter.
Key Demands in the Petition…
1) The cost of the security provided to RSS Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat and the RSS headquarters must be recovered.
2) This wastage of taxpayers’ money must be halted, and the funds saved thereby should be deposited into the government exchequer.
3) The Central Government and the Ministry of Home Affairs must take an immediate decision regarding the correspondence exchanged in this context.
