Former Haryana Speake challenges withdrawal of security in High Court

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has requested the Haryana government to provide a response to a petition filed by Kuldeep Sharma, former speaker of the Haryana assembly. Sharma is seeking directives to reinstate police protection, which was recently withdrawn by the government. He is urging the court to invalidate the October 15, 2023 order issued by ADGP (CID) that arbitrarily withdrew his security cover based on a threat assessment report. Sharma argues that the withdrawal occurred without his involvement, despite the existence of an immediate and apparent threat to his life from unidentified individuals.

Directions have also been sought to restore and continue security cover provided to him by the state government for 30 years. The HC has also been informed that an FIR dated December 5, 2023, was also registered with regard to threat to his life at a police station in Karnal. The matter has been fixed for February 19. Sharma (66), has claimed in his petition that he was firstly given security cover by the Haryana government when certain terrorists made an attempt to eliminate him as he was pursuing criminal matters against certain terrorists in Karnal in late 1980s. His father was a member of Parliament at that time.
His cover was enhanced or reduced depending upon threat perception as assessed by Haryana Police. He had been provided with an adequate number of security personnel by the state, especially when he was working president of Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC).

In 2009, he was elected as MLA from Ganaur in Sonipat district of Haryana and remained speaker till 2014. He was elected to the state assembly in 2014 again. It has been claimed that in 2015, one Sajjan Pal, a former DSP of CRPF, was murdered by some gangsters. The petitioner voiced the matter in the legislative assembly as well as in the media for the arrest of the accused. According to Sharma, since then he had started receiving repeated threats on his phone to stop supporting the case of complainant party and restrain himself from exerting pressure on the police for immediate arrest of accused who had killed the DSP.

In November 2015, he submitted a complaint to the police regarding threat to his life for which an FIR was also registered. One person was also arrested in this connection, and he was held guilty and convicted by a court in Ganaur. During this period, his security was increased to four security personnel.

After the release of that person, he had again started threatening him on his mobile number from different numbers, including numbers exhibiting prefix codes of foreign countries. The petitioner informed the authorities concerned.

On October 15, 2023, the Haryana government unilaterally decided to withdraw the petitioner’s security cover, even though he had previously informed them about threats to his life. The decision was made without involving him or soliciting his response. Sharma contends that a police threat assessment report, arbitrarily prepared, claimed there was no threat to his life. Subsequently, on October 21, his security guards were withdrawn.