18 January, 2009

Tougher law must to check vandals: SC

Seeks Centre, States’ Response On Making Leaders Accountable For Violent Agitations
Pained by the inability of governments to take to task the unruly among agitationists indulging in destruction of public properties, the Supreme Court on Friday asked the Centre and states as to why such people be not dealt with stringently by providing teeth to the existing benign law.
The suo motu notice of destruction of public property and inability of police to protect them was taken by the SC in 2007 in the wake of the widespread Gujjar violence in North India. It had then appointed two committees — one headed by former SC judge K T THomas and the other by senior advocate Fali Nariman.
Having read the contents of both the reports that suggested providing teeth to existing provisions of the Prevention of Damage to Public Properties Act, 1984, and making the leaders of an agitation accountable for vandalism, a bench comprising Justices Arijit Pasayat and A K Ganguly asked the Centre and the states to respond to them by February 20. To rub it in, the bench pointed out the perceived inaction on the part of state governments to strictly deal with violent agititations and said: “We find that people are coming on camera and taking credit for burning buses and trains. That is the most unfortunate part. Either the statute is ineffective or prosecuting agency is not acting.” Should the leaders be not made accountable, the bench wondered and gave the Kerala experiment of holding the political party, which organises rallies and protest marches, pay for any damage caused to public property.
Solicitor General G E Vahanvati, who was the convenor of the Thomas Committee, had earlier informed the court on the basis of the responses received from state governments that they seldom resort to the provisions of the 1984 Act to punish those destroying public property and recover the cost from them.
Instead, the state governments have regularly resorted to the stricter provisions of the Indian Penal Code, despite the specific law being in vogue, to bring the offenders to book, Vahanvati had said.
Source:-The Times of India Delhi 17 January 2009 2008 P.9
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