Patna: The Patna high court has restored the Y+ category security cover of Purnia MP Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav.Allowing a criminal writ petition filed by Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav, a single bench of justice Jitendra Kumar quashed the Bihar govt order issued on Sept 23 last year that had downgraded his security cover from Y+ to Y category.Justice Kumar observed that security cover granted on the basis of reasonable threat perception was not merely a privilege but part of the fundamental right to life and personal liberty guaranteed under the Constitution.The high court also directed the state govt to pass a fresh order on Pappu’s request for enhancement of his security cover to Z category after obtaining inputs regarding threat perception from security agencies.The order was passed on May 14 and uploaded to the high court website on Monday evening.Pappu had initially moved the court seeking enhancement of his security cover from Y category, citing threats to his life allegedly from the Lawrence Bishnoi gang and Chhotu Yadav.Although the Bihar govt upgraded his security to Y+ category on Aug 9 last year, it was later reduced to Y category following complaints regarding alleged misuse of the security arrangement.Court relief for Jan Suraaj chief: The Patna high court has quashed a six-year-old criminal case against Jan Suraaj leader Prashant Kishor, which accused him of stealing data and intellectual property linked to the “Baat Bihar Ki” campaign. Justice Sandeep Kumar termed the prosecution an “abuse of legal process” and observed that ideas, themes and historical facts cannot be protected under copyright law.HC adopts virtual hearing SOP: The Patna high court has adopted a standard operating procedure for virtual hearings during summer vacation. The move follows recent Supreme Court observations and Centre notifications aimed at reducing petroleum consumption amid the US-Iran crisis. Around 900 cases were listed before nine benches on May 18 and 19, of which 490 were disposed of virtually.
