High Court steps in to help flood-hit rebuild lives, extends bail to rebuild house

As floodwaters continue to leave a trail of destruction across several parts of Haryana and Punjab, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has stepped in to extend relief to those whose lives and homes have been upended by the calamity.

The Bench made it clear that it “cannot overlook the devastating impact of the ongoing floods” while extending interim bail to a Hisar resident whose house had been severely damaged. The order came as part of a growing line of judicial interventions acknowledging the humanitarian fallout of the floods.

The Bench held that courts could not remain insensitive to large-scale devastation when people were struggling to rebuild their homes and livelihoods. The court extended the petitioner’s interim bail till November 28, noting that the floods had crippled entire localities and left many families without shelter.

The ruling came in a wrongful confinement case registered in December 2023 at Adampur police station in Hisar under Sections 147, 149, 323, 342, 365 and 506 of the IPC. Attempt to murder offence and another offence under Section 307 and 325 of the IPC was added later on to the matter

The court observed that the petitioner incarcerated in the FIR had come second time before the court for extension of interim bail granted vide order dated September 12 by Hisar Additional Sessions Judge and

further extended by the high court vide order dated September 19 for 60 days for repairing/renovating his house severely affected due to heavy flood in the area.

Appearing before the Bench, the State counsel did not dispute the prevailing situation before submitting that floods had severely impacted numerous areas, including the locality where his family resided and “the said reason formed for extension of interim bail”.

Taking a note of the arguments, the Bench asserted: “Given the facts and circumstances, this Court cannot overlook the devastating impact of the ongoing floods and is, therefore, inclined to extend the interim bail unto November 28 to renovate/repair his house… The petitioner shall surrender on November 29 at 11.00 am in the jail concerned,” the Bench concluded

The development is significant as the High Court in recent weeks had been hearing multiple pleas citing loss of property, livelihood, and access due to the floods, with the Bench balancing legal process against urgent humanitarian need reflecting a broader judicial recognition that natural disasters called for a compassionate application of the law.