Supreme Court declines plea against Z-plus security cover for Mukesh Ambani

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday declined to entertain a plea seeking to challenge the Z-plus security cover provided to industrialist Mukesh Ambani and his family.

A bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Manmohan cautioned the petitioner, Bikash Saha, for repeatedly seeking judicial intervention in a matter, which should be considered by the state authorities.

"Is it in the domain of the court and is it for the Supreme Court to decide who should be given what kind of security," the bench asked the counsel.

The bench asked the petitioner’s counsel, who are you to assess the threat perception? It is for the government of India to decide.

During the hearing, the bench expressed its displeasure with the petitioner filing a fresh application despite previous court orders, which held that he had no legal standing to raise such issues.

The petitioner’s counsel sought periodic reassessment of the security threat to the Ambani family. The counsel stressed that threat perception could not be presumed to be permanent.

The bench pointed towards July 2022 judgment of the apex court, which affirmed Ambanis’ entitlement to security cover and closing similar proceedings pending before the Tripura High Court.

The bench said the petitioner has not shown any material to the court that there is any change in the security threat to the private respondent. The bench said it is not keen to entertain the plea and termed it “frivolous” and “vexatious.”

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing the Ambani family, submitted that the litigation amounted to harassment, and asked, “how is this person concerned with assessing the security threat?”

The petitioner’s counsel contended that a review board was supposed to meet soon and insisted that security threats should be re-evaluated over time.

The bench made it clear to the petitioner’s counsel that whether it is a politician or a businessman, it is for the state authorities to follow a process and take a decision accordingly.

The bench told the petitioner to not indulge in any similar exercise in the future, failing which it would consider imposing exemplary costs on him.

In July 2022, the court had directed the Centre to continue providing security to the Ambani family and closed proceedings initiated through a PIL before the Tripura high court. In that matter too, Saha had moved before the court. The apex court had observed that he had no locus standi to question the security provided to the Ambanis, who reside in Mumbai and pay for their security services.