Security plea to boost status: HC forfeits Rs 2 lakh deposit, slams misuse of police machinery

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has ruled that police protection cannot be demanded as a status symbol and every request must pass the test of “need and risk” set by the State’s own security-assessment policy.

In a stinging indictment of the misuse of State resources, Justice Harpreet Singh Brar’s Bench dismissed a protection plea filed on the basis of an allegedly concocted threat and ordered the forfeiture of Rs 2 lakh earlier deposited by the petitioner.

“In a society that values equality, access to public services, including law enforcement, must be based on need and risk. The police is a large professional force, trained and maintained using the taxpayers’ rupee for the protection of the citizens and maintenance of law and order. Repeatedly engaging State resources to inquire into imaginary threats, merely to use police protection as a status symbol and inflate one’s ego… is not just wasteful but also deeply troubling,” the Bench asserted.

The judgment came in a case where the threat perception projected by the petitioner was repeatedly assessed by senior police officers, including the Additional Director-General of Police, Security, the State Intelligence, and the Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police. Despite thorough inquiries, no credible threat to the petitioner or his family was found.

Justice Brar’s Bench was informed that an officer was assigned to assess the veracity of the threat, but the petitioner refused to join the inquiry or provide CCTV footage. Instead, he demanded the transfer of the investigation while leveling unsubstantiated allegations of partiality against the inquiry officer through a statement dated May 15.

“Sadly, it appears that the petitioner is under the misconception that he can dictate the functioning of law enforcement agencies purely based on his whims and fancies,” the Bench observed. It further noted that the effort to depict himself as a target of dreaded gangsters and terrorist organisations, despite the absence of any corroborative material, only underscored his intent to sensationalise the matter,” Justice Brar added. Finding the conduct to be “unbecoming of a respectable citizen”, the court not only dismissed the plea but also directed the forfeiture of Rs 2 lakh deposited by the petitioner, ordering that the amount be transferred to the District Legal Services Authority, Jalandhar.

Punjab