Court No. - 29
Case :- PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION (PIL) No. - 16455 of 2010
Petitioner :- Peoples Union For Civil Liberties U.P. Chapter
Respondent :- State Of U.P. Thru. P.S. (Home) & Ors.
Petitioner Counsel :- K.K. Roy,Ravi Kiran Jain
Respondent Counsel :- C.S.C.
Hon’ble Sunil Ambwani,J.
Hon’ble Kashi Nath Pandey,J.
We have heard Shri Ravi Kiran Jain, Senior Advocate assisted by Shri K.K. Roy for the petitioner. Shri S.G. Hasnain, Additional Advocate General assisted by Additional Chief Standing Counsel appears for the respondents.
The State is allowed a week’s time to file counter affidavit.
Put up on 5.5.2010.
In the counter affidavit, the State Government may, apart from giving reply to the allegations made in the writ petition, also place on record the alleged granting of the situation, which has been so forcibly argued by Shri S.G. Hasnain, prevailing in the area and the preventive measures, which have been taken by the State administration. The District Magistrates, Allahabad, and Kaushambi will also specify whether the district administration has entered into any dialogue or have even talked with the? residents of the area, to look into and to redress the issues raised by them.
It is contended that the persons, for whose benefit the writ petitions have been filed, are very poor persons living on the river banks. They are traditionally engaged as fishermen. They were also engaged traditionally in the sand mining by contractors as labourers. The contractors are using JCB and other machines against the State Government orders for mining giving rise to large scale unemployment and poverty. The directions in the judgment of this Court in Writ Petition No. 13317 of 2008 Zunaid Ahmad vs. State of UP and others and other connected petitions dated 29.4.2008 against use of machines in mining and consequent unemployment is being openly flouted.
It is contended by Shri Ravi Kiran Jain, that the persons, belonging to ‘Nishad’ and ‘Khewat’ communities in the area, have raised their voice peacefully against the unemployment and poverty, only to be crushed by the District administration. He has annexed six first information reports, in which there are allegations of unlawful assembly in violation of? the order under Section 144 Cr.P.C. and the arrests made thereunder. The Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) appointed a Committee to enquire into the alleged police atrocities against the poor people in the area. The report shows that the police not only entered into the houses of some of the persons but that their women folk were also beaten also suffered injuries. Damage was also caused to the thatched houses and items of domestic use.
Shri S.G. Hasnain, Additional Advocate General states that the persons in the area had assembled with arms and did not disperse inspite of repeated warnings by the police. He submits that allegations in the FIRs constitute serious offences and that the police has submitted charge sheets in almost all the criminal cases.
As an interim measure, we provide that if any further arrests are made in pursuance to the impugned FIRs, the persons arrested shall be released on personal bond on the same day. We further direct that the State Government will immediately stop the mechanized mining in the river beds of river ‘Yamuna’ and ‘Ganga’ and will take suitable action against all the contractors, who are using mechanized mining. The District Magistrates will produce the inspection reports of the mining authorities on the complaints made of illegal mechanized mining by the contractors.
We further allow the petitioner to implead State Human Rights Commission through its Chairman in the writ petition. Let notices be issued to the State Human Rights Commission to assist the Court in the proceedings. Let a copy of the order be given to learned counsels for the parties by tomorrow.
Order Date :- 28.4.2010
RKP
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