YPS Chowk blockade can’t be allowed to continue for all time to come: HC

The Punjab and Haryana high court has taken strong note of the failure of Mohali and Chandigarh administrations in clearing the YPS Chowk blockade, where protesters have held traffic to ransom since January 7.

During the hearing on Tuesday, the high court bench of justice AG Masih and justice Harpreet Singh Brar said, “What transpires is that the force, which is required to take action, is ready and willing, but there appears to be some indecision on the part of the authorities to take action. We hope and expect that the authorities succeed in the negotiations with the agitators, but then there has to be an end to all this.”

The court was hearing a plea from NGO ArriveSAFE, seeking removal of protesters from YPS Chowk, a major traffic lifeline. The rotary, near the Chandigarh-Mohali border, has been completely blocked by the Qaumi Insaaf Morcha to demand release of Sikh prisoners, majorly hitting inter-city movement of traffic.

At Tuesday’s hearing, the NGO’s counsel, Ravi Kamal Gupta, apprised the court of a Nihang’s death at the protest site on March 24. A clash between Nihangs on April 9 was also bought to the court’s knowledge.

Punjab advocate general Vinod Ghai assured the court that it will be informed about the cause of the death, and also submitted that an FIR had been registered following the April 9 clash and that the accused had been arrested. Further process in accordance with law will be followed in the case, he stated before the court.

Ghai as well as Chandigarh’s public prosecutor, Ashu Mohan Punchhi, submitted that efforts were being made to amicably resolve the issue, and they were quite hopeful that the matter will be settled and the agitation will be brought to an end.

The NGO’s PIL was filed on March 10 and again taken up on March 22. On both occasions, the respondents had assured the court of amicable solution to the stalemate between the morcha and authorities.

However, despite several assurances, it has failed to resolve the issue, even as the blockade has completed 96 days.

On both these hearings, court had orally observed that it was restraining from passing any order in view of the matter’s sensitivity. However, even during the third hearing on April 11, the authorities only presented assurances of resolving the matter.

On considering the submissions, the court observed that there appeared to be some indecision on the part of the authorities to take action. “It (protest) cannot be allowed to continue for all time to come,” the bench said, giving both the administrations time till May 17 to file status reports.