The Supreme Court of India on Monday granted liberty to Lok Sabha Member of Parliament Rajesh Ranjan, popularly known as Pappu Yadav, to move a formal application before the Patna High Court for the urgent listing of his plea seeking an upgrade of his security detail. Yadav, the independent MP representing Bihar’s Purnia constituency, has requested an upgrade from ‘Y’ to ‘Z’ category security, citing persistent threats from the Lawrence Bishnoi gang.
The matter reached the apex court after Yadav’s legal team alleged procedural delays in the Patna High Court. According to the MP’s counsel, although the High Court had issued a notice on his petition on November 19, 2024, the order was reportedly not uploaded, and the case has not been listed for a substantive hearing since then.
Yadav’s push for enhanced protection follows a series of alleged threats from the Lawrence Bishnoi criminal syndicate. Currently, the MP is entitled to ‘Y’ category security, which typically includes 11 personnel. An upgrade to ‘Z’ category would double that protection to 22 personnel. The MP’s counsel further alleged that a previous ‘Y-plus’ designation was merely “on paper” and did not translate into actual physical security on the ground.
During the proceedings, a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi questioned the necessity of the highest level of state protection.
“Do you need ‘Z’ category security?” the bench asked.
The MP’s counsel responded by emphasizing the severity of the threats and clarified that Yadav does not employ private security guards, relying entirely on state-provided protection. The counsel maintained that their primary grievance was the lack of movement on the pending petition in the High Court.
The Supreme Court declined to pass a direct order on the security upgrade itself, instead focusing on the judicial process. The bench granted Yadav the liberty to file a formal request with the Patna High Court specifically asking for his pending petition to be listed.
“The bench granted him liberty to move a formal application before the High Court with a prayer to list his pending petition,” the Court noted, adding that it had “no doubt that the High Court would consider the request and pass appropriate order.”
The central protection list in India follows a structured hierarchy based on threat perception. The tiers range from the highest level, Z-plus (ASL), followed by Z-plus, Z, Y-plus, Y, and X. Each category dictates the number of personnel and the level of mobile/static protection provided to the protectee.
