Aastha Thakur
Published on: October 27, 2022 at 17:51 IST
Dr. Subramanian Swamy, a former member of the Rajya Sabha, filed a plea with the Delhi High Court, alleging that the Centre had overlooked to make adequate security arrangements at his private residence in the capital after he was recently ordered to turn over possession of his government residence to the authorities.
The plea was heard by division bench headed by Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and is listed for Monday.
Senior Advocate Jayant Mehta said that Swamy had agreed to vacate the government property by October 26 after the Center guaranteed in court that it would make sure that his private residence had all necessary security measures in place.
It was reported, however, that no such arrangement was made.
On January 15, 2016, Swamy, who has been granted Z category protection by the Center, was given government housing for a term of five years. Because of a potential threat, he was given the bungalow in Lutyens Delhi.
Swamy subsequently became Member of the Parliament, and this year on April 24 his tenure ended. Even though the allotment eventually came to an end, Swamy’s government accommodations remained with him while he was serving as a member of the upper house. After his term as a Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament expired, he had lately been ordered to leave the building.
Swamy subsequently filed a petition with the High Court, contending that the initial accommodations given to him must be maintained in his favour in light of the security precautions that must be taken for a Z category protectee.
On September 14, Justice Yashwant Varma dismissed Swamy’s petition. He noted that although the original allocation was made for a five-year period that is now over, Swamy failed to present any evidence that would mandate or require the allocation of government housing to a Z class protectee.
Wheras, Additional Solicitor General Sanjay Jain, who was representing the Centre, said that Swamy has his own residence where he can relocate and that the appropriate protective authorities must take all necessary precautions to ensure his safety and security there.
Accordingly, the court had stated that the one thing left for the administration to do would be to see to it that sufficient preparations are made at Swamy’s private property to ensure his protection.