As the Jat community intensified its agitation on reservations with a threat to choke Delhi, the Supreme Court, in a stern order on Thursday, directed the governments of the states surrounding the national capital to ensure that there was no disruption of public services in any manner in the region and took serious note of the chief ministers of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh extending “tacit support” to the Jats’ stir.
A bench of Justices Altamas Kabir and Dalveer Bhandari passed a brief order to this effect while issuing notice to the Haryana and UP governments in an emergency hearing on a set of petitions by Indian Oil Corporation and Delhi Jal Board, fearing imminent disruption of the supply of petroleum products from the Panipat and Mathura refineries and water supply to the national capital.
“There should be no disruption of the supply of water and essential commodities, including milk, due to the agitation. All essential commodities reaching Delhi, either by road or rail, should not be stopped. It is needless to say that the governments of the states concerned shall take necessary steps in this regard,” the court said while issuing an identical direction to the Rajasthan government.
“We are constrained to pass the order having regard to the statements made by the highest functionaries of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh indicating support to the agitation,” the bench said, apparently taking note of reported statements by Haryana’s Bhupinder Singh Hooda and UP’s Mayawati extending “tacit support” to the Jats’ agitation.
The court said though in a democracy citizens had the right to protest, no one could be allowed to “resort to such steps which lead to the disruption of essential public services and affect citizens in other parts of the country”.
The bench specifically asked the governments of the two states to ensure smooth supply of petroleum products from the Panipat and Mathura refineries, as any disruption would have a cascading effect on several parts of the country.
To ensure immediate implementation of the order, the court directed its registry to send copies of it to the chief secretaries of Haryana and UP forthwith, and serve the same to the two states’ resident commissioners in New Delhi.
Though the states were given two weeks to submit their replies via affidavits, the court gave enough indications that it would keep a strict watch on developments and might act accordingly.
This is the second time the Hooda government has came under sharp attack from the Supreme Court in recent times: the court had earlier pulled it up for “soft-pedalling” on an agitation by Jats in the Hissar region after 90 youths from the community were booked in the Mirchpur dalits’ attack case and the railways reported a loss of `32 crores due to the blockade of trains.
The court had said at that time that “one group of people who have muscle cannot hold part of the country to ransom. People have the right to travel”.
In a stern warning to the Haryana government, it had said: “Unless the rule of law prevails, this court will take drastic steps, the kind ... not seen so far. Muscle power cannot prevail (over) the rule of law. This is our clear message.”
Reports from Chandigarh said the Punjab and Haryana high court has also directed the Hooda government to clear railway tracks and blockades of any kind on roads to ensure the smooth flow of essential commodities in the entire region.