The Uttarakhand HC in Nainital has ordered a stay on the proceedings in the court of the Ranikhet judicial magistrate against 381 persons accused of causing damage at the private school set up by the Jindal group’s Himanshu educational society at Nainisar in Almora district. The High Court has given the State Government a period of four weeks to file its reply on this issue. It is pertinent to mention here that Uttarakhand Parivartan Party head PC Tiwari and others had filed a petition in the High Court stating that locals and members of various bodies had staged a protest demonstration against he Jindal group at Nainisar on November 1 last year. Against this action, the Jindal group is reported to have lodged an FIR against the petitioners accused of damaging property and creating disorder. Following this, the police had filed a charge-sheet against the petitioner and others in the court of the judicial magistrate at Ranikhet. Responding to this, Tiwari and others had approached the High Court seeking cancellation of the charge sheet filed in the lower court. Hearing on the case, the single bench of justice Sudhanshu Dhulia ordered a stay on the proceedings in the lower court while also directing the State to file its reply within four weeks.