Pol parties can't be derecognised for property damage in stirs

Solicitor General Rohinton Nariman submitted before a bench comprising justices G S Singhvi and S J Mukhopadhaya that the apex court has dealt with the issue in one of its judgments which makes its clear that neither the Election Commission nor the court can de-recognise a political party for organising agitation leading to destruction of public property.

The Centre was responding to the July 17 query of the apex court whether there was any law to deal with de-recognition of a political party for such a situation.

The Court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) petition filed by former IPS officer Prakash Singh seeking its direction to frame guidelines for preventing agitations leading to large-scale destruction of property and disruption of traffic through blockade of roads, highways and railway tracks.

Singh had filed the petition to prevent a repeat of last year's three-month blockade of the national highway running through Nagaland.

The apex court is also hearing a case involving the rail and road blockade by protestors from the Jat community in Jind district of Haryana last year, leading to destruction of railway properties.

It was unhappy with the manner in which Haryana government responded to the issue by filing an affidavit through the Deputy Commissioner of Jind district.

The bench refused to accept the affidavit and directed that it should be filed through the Principal Secretary, making it clear about its stand on compensating the damage of around Rs 33 crore to the properties of railways during the agitation by the Jat community.