The Gujarat High Court has rejected a petition filed by Shweta Bhatt, wife of former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt who is currently in jail, seeking reasons for the withdrawal of her husband’s police protection.
The court stated that citizens do not have a right to receive security cover and noted that Bhatt’s protection was withdrawn after his arrest in 2018. The court explained that the police force has limited resources and cannot be burdened with providing reasons for every withdrawal of protection.
The decision to withdraw Bhatt’s protection was made by a committee and approved by the state, and the court declined to accept Bhatt’s wife’s argument that the police should provide the reasons for the withdrawal.
The court also noted that providing the reasons for the decision could expose the methods and information used by the state to assess security and threat perception, which is confidential in nature. The court ultimately dismissed the plea.
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