Calcutta: The Centre told Calcutta High Court on Friday that it had provided Y-plus category security to BJP leader Mukul Roy because he had been facing security threats.

Appearing before the division bench of acting Chief Justice Jyotirmoy Bhattacharya and Justice Arijit Banerjee, additional solicitor general (ASG) Kaushik Chanda told the court: "According to central intelligence reports, the BJP leader has been facing security threats. To avoid any untoward incident, the Union government has provided Y-plus security for him."

The bench was hearing a public interest litigation by Debraj Chakrabarty, a Trinamul Congress councillor of Bidhannagar municipality, seeking an order asking the Union government on what grounds it had provided the security to Roy even after his resignation as a Rajya Sabha member.

According to the petitioner, Roy does not deserve any security.

The division bench asked the ASG to file an affidavit stating details about the reports that the Centre had received from the intelligence agencies.

Roy, a former national vice-president of the Trinamul Congress, had joined the BJP last month.

"The reports that our government received are very confidential. So, it would not be possible for the government to make the reports public," Chanda said.

Acting Chief Justice Jyotirmoy Bhattacharya then asked the ASG to submit the reports before the court in a sealed cover next Friday.

Moving the petition before the court, Chakrabarty said: "The ruling party at the Centre has provided him Y-plus security soon after his joining the BJP. Since his resignation from Trinamul to joining the BJP, Roy never received any security threat."