Supreme Court rejects plea seeking withdrawal of Z+ security to Mukesh Ambani and family

The Supreme Court has rejected a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that sought for the withdrawal of Z+ security given to Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani and his family, stating that it is for the State to assess and take a call on such issues. The Apex court bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan dismissed the plea filed by petitioner Himanshu Agarwal against a December 2019 order of the Bombay High Court.

"It is for the State to assess and review the threat perception of individuals on a case to case basis," the Apex court said in its order earlier this week.

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The Bombay High Court in its order had noted that the state was bound to provide Z+ security to individuals willing to bear the entire cost for security to protect their lives in view of their own grave threat perceptions. The Ambani family were willing to bear the entire cost to protect their lives in view of their own grave threat perceptions, the court had stated. The Mumbai Police Commissioner has no option but to ensure that the highest level of Z+ security is provided to these private individuals, the court order added.

"Irrespective of whether any individual or any authority is convinced about the existence or otherwise of real threat to their life or liberty, particularly when they are willing to bear the entire cost for said security to protect their lives in view of their own grave threat perceptions", the court order said.

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Jio Net profit Rises

Meanwhile, Jio's net profit jumped to Rs 2,844 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, 2020, from Rs 990 crore in the year-ago period. Revenue from operations rose 33 percent to Rs 17,481 crore during the just-ended quarter, according to a regulatory filing. The company in an investor presentation said the total customer base stood at 405.6 million in September 2020, making it the first operator outside China to surpass 400 million subscribers in a single country market.

On Friday the company posted almost three-fold jump in its net profit to Rs 2,844 crore for the September quarter, driven by ARPU uplift and strong customer addition. The company also said Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and The Public Investment Fund have purchased units of Fibre Trust worth over Rs 7,500 crore cumulatively (Rs 3,779 crore each).

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(With Agency inputs)