HC defers hearing in BBMB case to July 8

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Wednesday deferred the hearing in the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) case to July 8, after the summer break. As the matter came up before the Division Bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sumeet Goel, the state submitted that any restriction on access to the BBMB was imposed by the crowd, and not the authorities.

Senior advocate Gurminder Singh submitted on behalf of the state: “As regards the police presence, it was on their own asking… and the restriction, if any, was by the crowd that had gathered at the spot. Because of the issue being sensitive, the court is aware a large protest has taken place on the site.”

The submission came a month after the BBMB Chairman told the Bench that he had been locked out of the installation by the public, a claim the Bench had earlier termed “unbelievable”. The court had also noted that a prima facie case of contempt was made out for non-compliance with its directions restraining interference with BBMB’s functioning.

BBMB counsel and senior advocate Rajesh Garg, meanwhile, raised concerns submitting that delaying the matter until after the summer vacation could lead to further problems. “If this matter goes up after vacation, we may face the same problem during June also. So long as the police force is there, under the garb of the stand they are now taking that they are not preventing anybody from going there, the situation is status quo. We are in a day-to-day predicament,” he added.