The Kerala High Court on Thursday, September 29, directed the now proscribed Popular Front of India (PFI) to deposit an amount of Rs 5.20 crore to the Additional Chief Secretary of the state Home Department, as compensation for the damages caused during the flash hartal called on September 23. The PFI on September 22 had called for a dawn to dusk hartal the next day to protest against the arrests of several of its leaders by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in its nationwide raids against PFI.
Condemning the flash hartal, a division bench comprising of Justice AK Jayasankaran Nambiar and Justice Mohammed Nias CP on Thursday observed that such flash hartals are illegal, “irrespective of the person, political party or association of persons which called for the same, and that those who violated the said order would be liable for the consequences that flowed from their illegal acts”.
Earlier in 2019, the court had ordered that calling for flash hartals – meaning hartals which are called without following the proper procedures such as giving a seven-day notice – would be deemed unconstitutional and illegal. The court on Thursday also said that the citizens of the state cannot be made to live in fear solely because they do not have the organized might of the persons or political parties at whose instance such violent acts are perpetrated.
“Our constitution guarantees to each individual in society certain fundamental rights, and the said rights are to be respected and guaranteed not only by the State as a governing body but also by fellow citizens who must view such respect for others’ rights as part of their fundamental duties under the constitution,” observed the division bench. When the matter was taken up by the bench on Thursday, the government pleader had submitted a report to the court which included details of steps taken by the state government to prevent untoward acts of violence as well as the extent of destruction caused to public property.
A similar report was also filed by the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), with details about the loss it suffered during the flash hartal. According to the KSRTC report, it suffered a total loss of Rs 5.6 crore, including the costs of damages, loss of scheduled trips due to cancellation, loss of workforce due to cancellation of schedules and so on.
The High Court on Thursday also directed the state government to make the PFI General Secretary an additional accused in all cases registered in the state with regard to the flash hartal. This order by the Kerala High Court comes just a day after the Union government declared the PFI and its associates as an unlawful organisation with immediate effect, for a period of five years. In its notification dates September 27, the Ministry of Home Affairs stated that the PFI was involved in "several criminal and terror cases" and showed "sheer disrespect to the constitutional authority" of the country. It also said that the organisation has external funds and ideological support which has become an "internal threat" to India.
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