Justice Abdul Nazeer gets Z category security cover amid threats from PFI post Ayodhya verdict

NEW DELHI: The central government has decided to provide 'Z' category security cover to Justice S Abdul Nazeer, who was part of the Supreme Court bench which pronounced the Ayodhya verdict, and his family members in view of the threat from the Popular Front of India (PFI). The Ministry of Home Affairs has directed the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and local police to provide security to Justice Nazeer and his family after agencies warned about a threat to their lives from the PFI and 'other quarters.'

According to an official communication accessed by ANI, security forces and local police will "immediately" provide 'Z' category security to Justice Nazeer and his family members in Karnataka and other parts of the country "in view of the threat from PFI and other quarters, as reported by the security agencies".

'Z' category security available with Karnatka's quota will be given to Justice Nazeer during his visits to Bengaluru, Mangaluru and elsewhere in the state, reads the letter. Similarly, the security will also be extended to his family members residing in Karnataka (Bengaluru and Mangaluru).

As many as 22 personnel of paramilitary and police escort a person with 'Z' category security cover. On November 9, the Supreme Court ordered the construction of Ram temple on a 2.77-acre land and directed the government to provide 5-acre land for the construction of a mosque in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh.

Apart from adjudicating the Ramjanmbhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute, Justice Nazeer was also part of a five-member bench of the Supreme Court, which declared instant triple talaq as unconstitutional in 2017. According to the information available, Justice Nazeer, 61, was first enrolled as an advocate in 1983 in the Karnataka High Court. He was later appointed an additional judge in the High Court in 2003. Justice Nazeer was elevated as a judge of the Supreme Court on February 17, 2017.