Allahabad HC dismisses petition challenging withdrawal of Y Plus security cover to Dhananjay Singh

The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday dismissed a petition challenging withdrawal of Y Plus security cover to gangster-turned-politician Dhananjay Singh. The bench comprising Chief Justice Govind Mathur and Justice Vivek Varma dismissed the petition filed by Singh.

In his petition, Singh claimed that the Union Home Ministry in June 2017 withdrew the security cover for 12 politicians, including him. But on August 28, 2017, the ministry communicated to the UP chief secretary that the order was under review and decision was kept under abeyance, he said. However, on May 24, 2018, Y Plus security cover to Singh was arbitrarily withdrawn, the petition claimed.

According to the petitioner, the decision of withdrawal of security cover was made by the ministry in an arbitrary manner, without giving any proper reason. In May 2018, the central government informed the Allahabad High Court that it has withdrawn Y-category security provided to Singh.

The high court on May 23, 2018 asked the additional solicitor general of India and the state government counsel to inform the bench as to how Singh had been provided Y-category security and why it should not be withdrawn from a person who is allegedly involved in 24 criminal cases, including seven murder cases.