HC notice to administration

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 27

Acting on a petition blaming the authorities concerned for deliberately not complying with judicial directions for applying brakes to a “car bazar’ in Feroze Gandhi Market, the Punjab and Haryana High Court today issued a notice to the Ludhiana Deputy Commissioner, Police Commissioner and the Municipal Commissioner.

The notice by Justice Jaswant Singh for April 21 came on a contempt petition filed by the Traders and Property Owners Association of Feroze Gandhi Market. The petitioner-association, in its petition filed through its president PS Gill, stated that a direction was issued to the dealers concerned to discontinue the operations of “car bazar’ in the Feroze Gandhi Market.

The direction came on a bunch of civil writ petitions decided by a Division Bench in February, 2011. In its order, the Bench permitted the dealers to continue with the business every Sunday for eight weeks after taking into consideration the fact that such a direction with immediate effect would cause hardship to the dealers seeking directions for continuation of the car bazar.

After eight weeks, they were required to close down their business in the market, failing which the Ludhiana Deputy Commissioner was to ensure the compliance of the High Court directions.

The petitioner-association, through its counsel HC Arora, attached photographs of sale and purchase activity going on in the car bazar before alleging that their representations to the Deputy Commissioner, Commissioner of Police and the Municipal Commissioner had not attracted the desired response.

Issuing notices to the respondent officers, the High Court also directed the officers concerned to submit a compliance report before the High Court on the next date of hearing.