High Court raps Punjab for promoting, nurturing the defiance of law

Saurabh Malik

Chandigarh, October 4

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has rapped the state of Punjab for promoting and nurturing defiance of law through the dispute resolution mechanism devised by it. The admonition came as Justice Vinod S Bhardwaj took cognisance of a large number of cases in which truck operators’ union was allegedly not allowing independent operators to ply their vehicles.

Justice Bhardwaj said mere denial of the problem by the state might not be a solution. The acceptance and acknowledgment of a wrong is the first step towards rectification, the court observed. The assertions came on a petition by Ultra Tech Cement Limited against the state and other respondents.

Justice Bhardwaj said the respondents’ consistent stand was that the truck union/truck operators were staging a peaceful protest and not interfering in the day-to-day affairs of the petitioner company and its employees/drivers were not coming forward to get their statements recorded.

Describing the assertion as incorrect, the petitioner company said a truck union was threatening their truck driver/operators, illegally confining them, carrying out checking in an illegal manner and manhandling its employees.

Its counsel contended the local police was, in fact, aligned with the truck operators/ union and not recording the statements of its drivers manhandled by the office bearers/representatives of the union. Instead of ensuring action as per law, they were soft peddling.

Justice Bhardwaj said a large number of cases involving the same issue were coming up regularly before the court. The state had failed to show grit and determination, even though it had notified Punjab Goods Carriages (Regulations and Prevention of Cartelization) Rules, 2017, against such action “notwithstanding that the action would be in conflict with the Constitution of India”.

Justice Bhardwaj said the number of such cases disputed the state’s claim that “all was fine”. Two more cases of similar nature were listed before the court the same day.

The state filed an “alleged settlement” in one such matter, which later showed that the aggrieved agreed to operate through the truck union.

Justice Bhardwaj directed the parties to bring their witnesses before the Illaqa Magistrate concerned for recording the statement of employees being allegedly manhandled.

Many similar cases: Court

• n Justice Bhardwaj said a large number of cases involving the same issue were coming up regularly before the court
• n Two more cases of similar nature were listed before the court for hearing on the same day