HC directs withdrawal of security from 675 persons

Allahabad, Mar 1 (UNI) The Allahabad High Court has directed the Uttar Pradesh government to forthwith withdraw security from 675 persons, to whom it had been provided on extraneous sources.

The court, however, said public servants such as engineers and policemen may be left out of the purview of the order.

''We are making this exception because honest officials are facing threat from mafia and contractors with criminal antecedents and they are forcing such honest officers to pass illegal orders in their favour. It is the state government duty to provide security to such officers, so that they may perform their duties honestly and properly,'' the court observed.

A Division Bench comprising Justices Imtiyaz Murtaza and Amar Saran passed this order on a writ petition of Gayur Hasan.

State advocate general S M A Kazmi told the bench that in 48 districts about Rs 2.77 crore had been realized from the persons, who had been provided paid security.

Mr Kazmi further informed the bench that a high-level committee (HPC) consising of the Additional Director General (ADG) security and ADG law and order and chaired by the secretary, home department, UP government had been constituted to decided on the eligibility and the validity of orders granting security to various persons.

The court has asked the HPC to examine other exceptional cases ''to provide security to such honest officers, so that they may perform their duties honestly and properly.'' In its order, the court has also said indefinite grant of security is unwarranted and it should have come to an end after lapse of a reasonable time period.

The court also directed directed that the HPC shall review the grants of security as per the new definition of threat perception and after obtaining reports from the district administration and state government. The HPC has also been directed to review cases of witnesses or 'pairokars' in criminal cases, to whom security had been provided.

There were 149 political workers with criminal records, 572 political workers, 38 contractors, 9 persons with criminal antecedents, 11 contractors and political workers and 4 contractors with criminal antecedents to whom security had been recommended by the district committees.

UNI