Abdul Nasser MadaniNew Delhi: The Karnataka government Friday did a downward revision of security expenses on Madani to Rs 1.18 lakh. The Supreme Court has agreed to the new revision.
Madani's trip to Kerala for his son's wedding had faced a crisis as Karnataka sought nearly Rs 15 lakh as security expenses.
The Supreme Court had earlier asked the revised security expenses of PDP chief Abdul Nasser Madani, accused in the Bengaluru blast case. The court had ordered on Thursday that only the travel and daily allowances need to be paid to police officers accompanying him to Kerala. Karnataka was Friday asked to prepare a new list based on the order.
A Supreme Court bench of justices S.A. Bobde and L. Nageshwara Rao had asked Karnataka to inform it on the expenditure involved. Making it clear that Madani's security was the sole responsibility of Karnataka government, the judges rejected Kerala's offer of security.
The court had asked the government if it was trying to block Madani's journey, and wanted to know who prompted it. It warned Karnataka to take its order seriously.
Lawyers Prashant Bhushan and Harris Beeran told the judges that security expenses for Madani's trip to Kerala for his daughter's wedding was only Rs 18,000. Only four policemen accompanied him. Now, Karnataka wants to send 19 cops and was seeking Rs 15 lakh.
Madani had visited his mother while on bail without paying anything.
The court sought to know why there was a new demand. Karnataka's lawyer J. Aristotle said Madani was accused of major crimes and what was sought was Rs 12.5 lakh in security plus taxes.
Kerala's standing counsel G. Prakash told the court the state was ready to provide security once Madani reached there. However, the apex court said it was not required. The judges pointed out that security was the responsibility of Karnataka and any support that Kerala was ready to provide became necessary only if the neighboring state requested it.
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