HC imposes fine on Govt, bureaucrats for not filing reply

Nagpur, June 14 (UNI) Nagpur Bench of Bombay High court today imposed a fine of Rs 1000 each on the Maharashtra Government, bureaucrats and secretaries for their failure to submit reply-affidavit in the case of suicides of farmers in Vidarbha.

The Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti had filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in February this year and since then the Bench of the Bombay High court has been issuing orders directing the State Government, bureaucrats and the secretaries to file reply-affidavit on the PIL. But, since last five months they had not responded the court orders nor filed the reply-affidavit.

Today the case was heard by Justice Mr J N Patel and Justice Mr S R Dongaonkar, at the Nagpur Bench and the fine was imposed on them directing that the cost of the fine of Rs 1000 each be paid within two weeks. Otherwise, the reply-affidavit would not be considered and the high court would proceed to pass further orders on the prayer made by PIL petitioner.

The PIL petition had submitted that the farmers in the cotton cultivating western vidarbha region, over burdened with financial losses which led to high debts, had suffered to the extend of committing suicide while the respondents of the state officials had not taken any congnizance of the suicides deaths as they occurred due to the wrong policies of the state government. The state government had also not provided immediate financial assistance to the cotton growers.

Due to the apathetic attitudes of the state government and its secretarial level officials, the cases of committing suicides by farmers had continued crossing the deaths of 540 so far, the PIL petition added.

UNI NNG PM MP RS1627