The Delhi High Court today directed the city’s police commissioner to assess the threat perception and provide necessary security to Rajan Singh Transgender, who has filed nomination as an independent candidate from the South Delhi parliamentary constituency for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
A single-judge bench of Justice Anoop Kumar Mendiratta passed the order on a writ petition filed by Singh, who claims to be the sole transgender candidate in the fray from South Delhi. Singh had approached the court seeking directions to the state authorities to provide adequate police protection, citing alleged attacks and threats to their life and limb.
According to the petition, Singh had lodged complaints with the police regarding life-threatening incidents on April 12 and 14, 2024, prior to filing the nomination papers. A request was also made to the Election Commission of India (ECI) on April 14 for providing security cover to contest the polls.
The court noted that in a democratic election, each candidate has the right to freely express political opinions, move around for campaigning, and contest on an equal footing with other parties and candidates. It emphasized that the right to security of life and property of candidates must be upheld to ensure the rule of law.
While the state submitted that the earlier complaints were inquired into but nothing cognizable was found, the ECI informed the court about its circular mandating concerned authorities to make security arrangements for candidates based on the perception of threat to their lives. The court has directed the police commissioner to treat Singh’s petition as a representation and assess the threat perception considering factors such as past incidents, specific complaints, political rivalries, and the law and order situation in the constituency. The competent authority has been asked to pass necessary orders and place them before the court on May 17.
