Chandigarh: The Haryana assembly Thursday passed the controversial Haryana Recovery of Damages to Property During Disturbance to Public Order Bill, 2021 amid a vociferous protest by the opposition.
The bill provides for recovery of damages to public or private property by protesters during the course of an agitation. It states that “any person leading, organizing, planning, exhorting, instigating, participating or committing such incidents that lead to damages” is liable to pay compensation.
State Home Minister Anil Vij introduced the bill in the House, saying the proposed law had nothing to do with the farmers’ agitation. “The farmers have been agitating most peacefully for the past 110 days and this bill is not because of their protest,” he said.
Calling it “anti-people”, leader of opposition and former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said the bill violates various Supreme Court judgments on the subject. He demanded a rollback of the bill.
“It is a bill that takes us away from democracy and encourages dictatorship. It is anti-people,” Hooda said in the House.
The Uttar Pradesh government had passed a similar law in August last year. The Punjab government under the Akali Dal-BJP rule had also brought in an Act in 2014 that provided for recovery of damages to public or private property.
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‘What’s the need for this?’
The opposition in the Haryana assembly raised a furore over the provisions of the bill regarding who is liable to pay compensation in case of damage to public or private property during a protest.
Hooda said the bill has been brought in to harass innocents. “There is already a law in the country regarding destruction of public property. Also there are provisions (in the IPC) to deal with rioting. So what was the need for such an Act?” said Hooda.
Objecting to Section 8(2) of the bill, which says compensation can be charged even from those “planning” or even “participating” in public disturbance, Hooda asked how the government will determine the planner or the participant in a crowd of 10,000.
The bill provides that in case property is damaged following disturbance to public order, a police officer will inform the district magistrate (DM) about the occurrence, who will then invite applications for claim for compensation for damages caused during the disturbance.
Apart from private property, the bill provides for recovery of damages to any property owned by the central and state governments, including the amounts spent in requisitioning additional police or paramilitary force to maintain peace during disruption to order.
The claims for compensation will be put before a claims tribunal headed by a judge, who will then decide the compensation amount, if any.
Other provisions — interest on compensation
According to the bill, the DM will recover the compensation amount in the same manner as the arrears of land revenue. The official will also have the power to attach the property or bank accounts of the person who is held liable to pay compensation.
Apart from the compensation, the claims tribunal can also award “exemplary damages” to be paid by the accused into the Consolidated Fund of India. The tribunal can also charge simple interest at the rate of 6 per cent per annum on the compensation amount.
The bill adds that no appeal against the order of the tribunal will be entertained until 20 per cent of the compensation amount is deposited with the collector.
“No civil court shall have jurisdiction to entertain any question relating to the claim for compensation and no injunction shall be granted by any civil court in respect of anything which is done or intended to be done by or under this act,” the bill adds, barring jurisdiction against its provisions.
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