SC asks Howrah Mills to pay police towards cost of protection

New Delhi, May 18 (UNI) The Supreme Court has directed the appellant Howrah Mills Company to pay Rs. 10000 per day to the West Bengal police department for protecting its land from trespassers towards cost of protection.

The company is before Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction(BIFR) and a proposal to sell a portion of its land as a means to revive the industry has been approved by the BIFR especially since the state of West Bengal had also agreed to the proposal keeping in view the fact that future of its 6000 workers is also at stake.

The appellant company owns a vast extent of land. Attempts were made to grab the land by some unauthorised trespassers. The company sought police protection for saving its land but the police department did not bother to provide protection.

The company filed a writ petition in the Calcutta high court for seeking directions to the police to protect the land of the company from lawless elements and ld. single judge of the high court holding that prima facie there was failure on the part of the police to perform their duty directed SP, Howrah to provide security to the land.

The division bench of the high court on an appeal filed by three persons claiming to be the co-owners of the property, set aside the order of the single judge and plea for interim protection was also rejected.

The company challenged the order of the division bench of the high court in the Supreme Court which vide order dated Nov. 1,2004 stayed the impugned order of the two judges bench.

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