Calcutta High Court declines to hear Z+ security cover plea by Humayun Kabir

The Calcutta High Court on Monday declined to hear a petition filed by suspended Trinamool Congress legislator Humayun Kabir seeking Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) security, directing him instead to approach the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.

A single-judge bench presided over by Justice Suvra Ghosh advised Kabir, the MLA from Bharatpur in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district, that decisions relating to the grant and level of central security cover fall within the jurisdiction of the Union home ministry.

Kabir, who has recently floated a new political outfit named the Janata Unnayan Party (JUP), had approached the court seeking ‘Z-plus’ security. In his plea, he claimed that the state government had failed to provide him with adequate protection despite his status as an elected representative, leaving him exposed to serious threats to his life.

After hearing the matter, the court observed that the assessment of threat perception and the allocation of security categories are undertaken by the Union home ministry.

On that basis, the bench refused to entertain the petition and advised Kabir to pursue his request directly with the central government.

The level of security provided to individuals is determined by the Union home minister, based on inputs from security agencies regarding the perceived risk to the person concerned.

Kabir has had a strained relationship with the Trinamool Congress leadership in recent months and was reprimanded several times for making public statements that the party said caused embarrassment. He was eventually suspended after announcing plans related to the construction of a Babri mosque at Beldanga in Murshidabad.

Following his suspension, Kabir launched the Janata Unnayan Party and said he was open to forming alliances with political parties other than the BJP and the Trinamool Congress. So far, however, no party has publicly expressed willingness to ally with his newly formed outfit.

With IANS inputs