Can move authorities if danger to life: Punjab and Haryana High Court on plea of ‘gangster’

Chandigarh, June 7

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has granted alleged gangster Amit Kumar the liberty to approach the authorities concerned in case cogent material to support his apprehension of danger to life came to the fore.

The direction by Justice Manjari Nehru Kaul of the High Court came after counsel for the State of Haryana “feigned total ignorance about any such statement, which is supposedly doing the rounds of the social media or even any danger to the life of the petitioner as has been pleaded today by the counsel for the petitioner”.

In his petition against the State of Haryana and other respondents, Kumar, through counsel Mandeep Kaushik and Amit Agnihotri, was seeking directions for providing him a bulletproof jacket in and outside the jail premises as he was apprehending threat to his life “at the hands of some of his rivals/gangsters”.

Justice Kaul asserted that the petitioner’s counsel failed to bring to the court’s notice any convincing material other than social media report, from which it could be inferred that the petitioner’s life was under any serious threat warranting the issuance of directions as prayed for.

“The petitioner is lodged in the Central Jail, Bathinda which is already designated as a high-security prison. However, in case, any cogent material to support the apprehension of the petitioner qua danger to his life comes to the fore, he would be at liberty to approach the authorities concerned by way of an appropriate application/representation in the said regard,” the Bench concluded.

Accused sought bulletproof jacket

The accused — Amit Kumar — was seeking directions for providing him a bulletproof jacket in and outside the prison premises as he was apprehending threat to his life ‘at the hands of some of his rivals/gangsters’.