‘ Mob violence against legal principles’
Leaders, outfits responsible to pay for damages to public property, rules SC
In a landmark verdict, the Supreme Court on Monday held the political leaders or outfits which call for agitation or protests responsible to pay compensation for public properties damaged in violence by members of the organisation or political party.
A three- judge bench of outgoing Chief Justice Dipak Misra ( last verdict before his retirement) and Justices A. M. Kanwilkar and D. Y. Chandrachud has issued comprehensive guidelines to control vandalism by protesting mobs in the case filed by Kodungallur Film Society in Kerala, which wanted norms to be fixed to deter large scale acts of violence and hooliganism carried out by fundamentalist outfits and fringe elements in the name of public protests.
Attorney- general K. K. Venugopal also prayed for framing guidelines and fixing responsibility on groups indulging in violence and causing damage to public properties and payment of compensation for loss suffered.
The PIL was filed in the backdrop of rampant vandalism unleashed by Karni Sena members during Padmavat agitation. The main prayer in the PIL was to direct the Central and state governments to strictly implement the guidelines framed by the court in 2009.
Writing the judgment for the bench, Justice Kanwilkar said that nobody has the right to become a self- appointed guardian of the law and forcibly administer his or her own interpretation of the law on others, especially not with violent means.
The bench said mob violence runs against the very core of our established legal principles since it signals chaos and lawlessness and the State has a duty to protect its citizens against the illegal and reprehensible acts of such groups.
The court directed the state governments to set up Rapid Response Teams, preferably district- wise, which are specially trained to deal with and can be quickly mobilised to respond to acts of mob violence.
◗ The PIL was filed in the backdrop of rampant vandalism unleashed by Karni Sena members during Padmavat stir