Thaindian News

New Delhi, July 17 (IANS) The central government Tuesday told the Supreme Court that it was the state governments’ responsibility to maintain law and order and ensure free and uninterrupted movement of traffic along the national highways.

The hearing of the matter was rooted in the 11-day blockade of rail and road traffic in Haryana in 2011 by members of the Jat community.

The responsibility for maintaining law and order to ensure free and uninterrupted movement along national highways was that of state governments, which are required to ensure that citizens were not deprived of their fundamental right, the central government told apex court.

The central government said this in its suggestions to the apex court bench of Justice G.S. Singhvi and Justice S.J. Mukhopadhaya during the hearing on the blockade of rail and roads traffic in the course of various agitations in the country.

The members of the Jat community embarked on 11-day road and rail blockade agitation after 98 people belonging to the community were booked for arson and killing in Mirchpur village April 21, 2010.

The call for blockade of passenger and freight traffic was given by the mahapanchayat of 12 khaps (caste councils) in January 2011.

Besides eight suggestions to deal with the problem of blockades, the central government said that “appropriate prosecution and civil recovery should be initiated” against the people involved in the agitation.

“The district magistrate shall record the quantum of loss suffered due to violent acts of the agitationists leading to the destruction of public and private property” and thereafter “undertake appropriate proceedings to recover the losses as arrears of land revenue against the delinquents individually”, the central government said.

The government said that the district judge, who would act as a special designated court, would dispose of the prosecution proceedings within six months.