Hooligans liable to compensate the victims of violence: SC
New Delhi, Oct 1 : Issuing guidelines including video-recording of vandalism and hooliganism, the Supreme Court on Monday ruled that whoever causes damage to public or private property will be made liable to compensate the victims of violence.
A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice A.M. Khanwilkar and Justice Dr D.Y. Chandrachud said the authorities must ensure that arrests of miscreants found on the spot are done in right earnest.
It was the last judgement delivered by the current Chief Justice Dipak Misra in which he has directed the state governments to set up rapid response teams preferably district-wise and specially train them to deal with mob violence and deploy these teams around vulnerable cultural establishments.
The order came on a public interest litigation filed by Kodungallur Film Society, which had sought framing of guidelines to deter acts of vandalism.
"This Court has time and again underscored the supremacy of law and that one must not forget that administration of law can only be done by law-enforcing agencies recognised by law," the court said.
"Nobody has the right to become a self-appointed guardian of law and forcibly administer his or her own interpretation of the law on others, especially with violent means. Mob violence runs against the very core of our established legal principles since it signals chaos and lawlessness. The state has a duty to protect its citizens against illegal and reprehensible acts of such groups," the court said.
Observing loss to property during such incident, the court directed authorities to video-record the events and, if required, hire private video operators to record the events or request the media for information on the incident.
Claims arising out of such acts of violence should be dealt with in the manner prescribed under the destruction of public and private properties, the court said, directing police officers to file first information reports and complete investigation as far as possible within the statutory period.
"Any failure to file FIRs and conduct investigations within the statutory period without sufficient cause should be considered as dereliction of duty on behalf of the officer concerned and can be proceeded against by way of departmental action in right earnest," the court said.
As liability of person causing violence, the court ordered agencies to take appropriate action against such persons and the leader of the organisations involved in such acts under provisions of the Indian Penal Code.
The court also directed the governments to set up special helplines, create and maintain a cyber information portal on its website and on its internet-based applications for reporting instances of mob violence and destruction of public and private properties.
It also ordered that the authorities may consider taking appropriate steps as per law including to impose reasonable restrictions on the social media and internet-based communication services or mobile applications.
The court directed that authorities to take coordinated efforts and issue messages across various audio-visual mediums including local TV channels, radio stations, social media like Twitter to restore peace and to control rumours.
The court directed nodal officers to coordinate with local emergency services, including police stations, fire brigades, hospital, medical services and disaster management authorities during incidents of mob violence in order to have a comprehensive and consolidated response to the situation.
The authorities must consider the use of non-lethal crowd-control devices, like water cannons and tear gas, which cause minimum injury to people but at the same time, act as an effective deterrent against mob force, the court said.
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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
