Ayodhya Case Mediator Sriram Panchu Moves Madras High Court Against Withdrawal Of Police Protection

Senior Advocate Sriram Panchu, who was the Supreme Court-appointed mediator in the Ayodhya Case, has recently approached the Madras High Court against withdrawal of police protection granted to him.

Mr. Panchu was given Z Category protection following an order of the Supreme Court in 2019. However, the Security Rearrangement Committee had withdrawn this security recently.

When the matter came up before Justice N. Sathish Kumar yesterday, Senior Advocate S Prabakaran, appearing for Mr. Panchu contended that the withdrawal of protection was without taking into account any of the recent events happening in the country. He stated that in light of the recent Gyanvapi Case and the Krishna Janmabhoomi case, the State should continue providing protection to Mr. Panchu who was receiving serious threats to his life. He also informed that two representations in this regard were already submitted to the concerned authorities but no action had been taken till now.

Mr. Prabakaran also informed the court that the matter involved confidential issues and serious threat perception. He requested for the proceedings to be held in-camera so that he could inform the details of the same to the court.

Considering the seriousness of the matter, the Court directed the respondents to file a counter and posted the matter to 16th June 2022 for a hearing.

Case Title: Sriram Panchu v. The State and others

Case No: W.P No. 14503 of 2022