Bombay HC rejects PIL Seeking Recovery of Taxpayer Money Over Z+Security to RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat

The Bombay High Court’s Nagpur Bench has rejected a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that questioned the state-funded Z+ security cover provided to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Chief Mohan Bhagwat.

The division bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar, dismissed the plea after concluding that it lacked merit and failed to highlight any genuine issue of public concern.

The petition, put forward by activist Lalan Kishore Singh, argued that the RSS is an "unregistered" entity, and therefore, its leadership is not entitled to expensive, taxpayer-funded protection.

Advocate Ashwin Ingole, on behalf of Singh contended that providing such high-level security to Bhagwat was an active misuse of the public exchequer.

Framing the issue as a burden on ordinary taxpayers, the activist even demanded that the government recover the money already spent on maintaining the security detail.

However, the State's defense dismantled the petitioner's claims by pointing out his true intentions. The government said that the petitioner-Lalan Kishore Singh had deliberately hidden a previous order passed against him by the State Information Commissioner on the exact same matter.

The court, while dismissing the plea, observed that the petitioner concealed the information. The bench viewed that the PIL filed with skepticism and agreed with the State that the petition was "motivated" and filed without proper groundwork or honest research.

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