Justice K. Sreenivasa Reddy of the AP High Court (HC) on Monday directed the police to immediately provide 1+1 security to Pulivarthi Venkata Maniprasad (Nani), the NDA alliance candidate for the Chandragiri Assembly constituency.
Mr. Nani’s grievance was that he faced a threat to his life from his enemies in the constituency, because of which he was unable to conduct meetings and mobilise the general public for his election campaign.
The judge also ordered that 1+1 security be provided to Mr. Nani’s family in view of the threat perception.
Advocate P.V.G. Umesh Chandra argued that the police had previously given 2+2 security cover to his client (Mr. Nani) as per the HC directions but removed it later arbitrarily, which jeopardised his safety.
He pointed out that appeals to provide 2+2 security in compliance with the court order were ignored.
Justice Sreenivasa Reddy observed that adequate security ought to be provided to the petitioner in view of the threat faced by him, more so because he was contesting the elections.
Accordingly, he ordered that the police should take necessary action. The petition was filed by advocate P. Raman. The matter has been posted after summer vacation for further hearing.
