Madras High Court rejected police protection to a person with criminal record: says it is against Public Morality
Last Updated on August 6, 2024 by News Desk
Recently, the Madras High Court rejected a man’s application to seek police protection contending that if a person invites a situation by his criminal or antisocial activities, he cannot be granted police protection as it will be against public morality.
“Police protection can be given by Court only in appropriate case based on threat perception. If a person invite a situation by his criminal or anti-social activities, protection merely on the basis of threat perception will be against public morality,” the court said.
As per the live law report, The bench of Justice SS Sundar and Justice N Senthilkumar was hearing a plea moved by Stalin Barathi, a council member of the Communist Party of India at Needamangalam Taluk, challenging the order of the district superintendent of police denying him the police protection.
Barathi submitted that his father was murdered in 2021 who was a member of the Executive Committee and the Union Party Secretariat of the CPI Party was murdered by a person named, Boovanur Rajkumar and was given police protection after the incident. Later, Barathi was added as the accused in the murder of Rajkumar and was therefore detained under the Tamil Nadu Preventive Detention Act. Subsequently, the police officer assigned for Barathi’s security was also withdrawn.
The petitioner Barathi submitted that his enemies had wrongly accused and targeted him. Further, he said that the mere pendency of a criminal case against him is not a valid reason to deny him the personal police security when there is an evident potential threat to his life.
it is to be noted that the petitioner has 22 criminal cases pending against him, some of which are of serious nature. The DSP also told the court that he was registered as history-sheeter.
Therefore the court dismissed the plea and observed that “the state could not grant police protection to an individual at the cost of the state as a matter of right. In the present case, Barathi had a criminal background and was also involved in a murder case. Thus, he could not be given police protection merely based on threat perception as the State couldn’t provide security cover to every individual”
Case title- NT Stalin Barathi v The District Collector
written by- Shagun Behal
