New Delhi, Aug 5 The Delhi High Court on Wednesday dismissed a PIL (public interest litigation) raising concern over the safety and security of Parliament and seeking to ensure its "uninterrupted constitutional functioning".
Citing the 2001 terror attack on the Parliament complex and the 2023 security breach, the PIL prayed for a direction to authorities to undertake a comprehensive review of the existing institutional security framework, including its "administrative, institutional, operational, technological and cyber-security mechanisms".
"These are not the functions of the court. How can any such direction be issued with respect to the functioning of Parliament? You think the Parliament of this country is incapable of taking care of its own security? What kind of a petition is this? We are there to give directions to Parliament as to how their administrative and operational mechanisms should function?" a bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia told the petitioner's counsel.
The bench asserted that the issue of Parliament's security had to be looked into by the government and the prayers sought by the petitioner could not be granted.
The petitioner's counsel emphasised that in a parliamentary democracy, the "Parliament is paramount" and reviewing its safety was the "need of the hour".
The bench said it was at a "loss of words" as to how a direction could be issued to authorities to consider the petitioner's concept note on enacting legislation on the issue.
Remarking that the security of every individual was paramount, the court told the petitioner that not every thought can become the subject matter of a PIL.
"Stampede occurring in a railway station, you don't see. Security concerns being faced by pedestrians, you don't see. Security concerns being faced by morning walkers, you don't see. Security of daily passengers going to railway stations is not a concern?" it said.
The PIL by Raj Singh said the issue of reviewing Parliament's security assumed greater significance due to the increasing frequency of demonstrations directed towards lawmakers.
"Calls for citizens to assemble or march towards Parliament ("Sansad Chalo") have become a recurring feature of democratic mobilisation across a range of public issues. While peaceful assembly and freedom of expression remain constitutionally protected, such developments also underline the necessity of ensuring that the existing security framework remains capable of simultaneously safeguarding democratic participation and protecting the institutional integrity and uninterrupted functioning of Parliament," the petition said.
It therefore sought a direction to the Centre, as well as the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha secretariats to "undertake a comprehensive review of the existing institutional framework governing the safety, security, resilience and uninterrupted constitutional functioning of the Parliament of India, including its administrative, institutional, operational, technological and cyber-security mechanisms, in light of evolving security challenges and emerging threats."
