Open it, regulate traffic: SC to Haryana on Shambhu border blockade
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Haryana government to clear the barricading at the Shambhu border near Ambala, where farmers have been camping since February 13, and questioned its authority to block the highway.
The Haryana government had set up barricades on the Ambala-New Delhi national highway in February after the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha announced that farmers would march to Delhi in support of various demands, including a legal guarantee of minimum support price (MSP) for crops.
A bench of justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan made the observation after the Haryana government counsel said the state is in the process of filing an appeal against the Punjab and Haryana High Court's July 10 order which had directed it to open the highway within seven days.
"How can a State block a highway? It has a duty to regulate traffic. We are saying open it but regulate," Justice Bhuyan said after the counsel informed the bench about filing of the appeal in the apex court.
Justice Kant told the state's counsel, "Why do you want to challenge the high court's order? Farmers are also citizens of this country. Give them food and good medical care. They will come, raise slogans and go back. I think you don't commute by road."
The counsel replied that he travels by road.
The bench said that then he too must be experiencing difficulties. It also asked the state to file an affidavit on the subsequent developments in the pending matter.
The top court was hearing a plea of the Haryana government challenging a March 7 Punjab and Haryana High Court decision to set up a committee headed by a former high court judge to probe farmer Shubhkaran Singh's death during a clash between the protesting farmers and Haryana security personnel in February.
On April 1, the apex court had refused to stay the high court's order.
Singh, 21, a native of Bathinda, was killed and several police personnel were injured in clashes at Khanauri on the Punjab-Haryana border on February 21.
The incident occurred when some protesting farmers were trying to head towards barricades erected at the border and were stopped by the security personnel from marching to Delhi.
On July 10, the high court ordered the Haryana government to clear within a week the barricading at the Shambhu border.
The court had also said if any law and order situation arises, then the state government could take preventive action according to law.
It had issued a similar direction to the Punjab government for maintaining law and order while stating that any barricading on its side should also be removed.
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Karnataka Lokayukta to register case, probe Bowring wall collapse
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Lokayukta Justice B S Patil on Thursday took serious note of the compound wall collapse at Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital in the city that killed seven people, and announced registration of a case on its own while warning of action against officials found responsible.
The Lokayukta, who visited the site and conducted an inspection, expressed strong displeasure over the incident and questioned the inaction of authorities, even as police and emergency teams had earlier rushed to the spot to rescue victims trapped under the debris following heavy rain, strong winds and a hailstorm on Wednesday evening.
“I will now register a suo motu case. This is not just about this one incident — such incidents must not occur anywhere in the state or the city in the future,” Justice Patil told reporters.
Seven people, including a six-year-old girl, were killed and seven others injured when the compound wall collapsed as rain-battered victims had taken shelter near it, according to police. The victims included people from Kerala who were in the city on a study tour.
Calling for systemic accountability, the Lokayukta said, “Dilapidated buildings and weakened compound walls, especially in areas with public access, must first be identified. They must either be repaired, demolished, or rebuilt.”
He added that responsibility would be fixed on officials of the BBMP and the concerned departments.
Justice Patil said that hearings would be conducted and preventive action initiated, while also probing those responsible for it, how the incident could have been prevented, and why it was not prevented.
A Scene of Crime Officers (SOCO) team and a Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) team also inspected the site, while police cordoned off Kovil Street to facilitate the probe.
Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said the government had initiated measures following the rain-related incidents and stressed preparedness.
“Since last night we have initiated measures regarding the rains. When it rains heavily, we must be prepared, and we are working towards that,” he told reporters here.
On the wall collapse, Shivakumar said, “I will not directly blame any officials. It was an old wall, and trees had grown alongside it. Due to that pressure, it collapsed.”
The Deputy CM said instructions had been issued to identify such vulnerable structures and clear areas around them, including relocating street vendors.
Karnataka Medical Education Minister Sharan Prakash Patil said a technical assessment had been ordered.
“This is a very serious matter. Innocent people have been affected. We are issuing directions to the engineers to find out why this compound wall collapsed and to assess its structural strength,” he told reporters after inspecting the spot.
The Minister noted that the wall was ‘very old’ and required thorough examination to prevent recurrence.
Speaking to reporters, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge asked the Karnataka government to take precautions to ensure that incidents like the collapse of the Bengaluru government hospital compound wall, which caused loss of life, should not repeat.
Meanwhile, addressing a press conference, Shivajinagar MLA Rizwan Arshad said the collapse raised questions about construction and maintenance practices.
“If a wall collapses within 25 years of its construction, it needs to be examined -- whether there was any technical issue, or if anything was altered inside, weakening it. All this can only come out through a technical investigation,” he said.
The Congress MLA also called for wider structural audits across the city, stating that all such structures, whether private or government, must be audited.
He urged citizens to support victims, saying it was a collective responsibility in times of crisis.
