Expressing unhappiness over failure of States to control acts of hooliganism and damage to public property during agitations and strikes, the Supreme Court on Wednesday set a tough precedent by directing the Railways to recover damages from Uttar Pradesh and Haryana for disruption of rail traffic during a Jat agitation three years ago.
The Railways suffered losses amounting to Rs 40 crore and Rs 33 crore in UP and Haryana respectively, after trains in the two States were either diverted or cancelled due to a violent Jat stir.
With the Haryana Government yet to respond to the Railways’ claim,the bench of Justices GS Singhvi and V Gopala Gowda directed the Claims Commissioner of Haryana to decide the claim of Northern Railways within four weeks by passing a written order.
Similarly, for Uttar Pradesh, the court held that in case the Claims Commissioner was not appointed in the State, the Chief Secretary would decide on it within the same period.
In 2009, several incidents involving destruction of public property across the country prompted the apex court to constitute a committee and direct agitating groups or individuals to pay for the damage.
Since the authorities failed to enforce the directive, the bench said: “On the next date, we will think of putting life back into the 2009 judgement. If public authorities fail in their task of enforcement, especially when the loss suffered by the Government runs into thousands of crores, we cannot remain mute spectators.”
With regard to resettling the Dalit community at Mirchpur following the Jat violence three years ago, the court appointed the District legal Services Authority, Hissar to conduct an inspection of the village along with a representative of NGO, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. They will examine the possibility of their rehabilitation and submit a report in four weeks.
The Dalits had expressed concerns of safety and security as the trial against the powerful Jats in the village was still pending in Delhi High Court. The court further directed the Haryana Government to ensure that free food and employment under MGNREGA was provided to victim families as a step towards their rehabilitation.