SC refuses to entertain UP govt petition on gunners

New Delhi, Feb 12 (UNI) In a setback to the Mulayam Singh Yadav government as well as to political parties, the Supreme Court today declined to entertain the petition of the Uttar Pradesh government against the Allahabad High Court order directing it to withdraw the gunners provided to student leaders, students, contractors and political activists with criminal background at the state expense.

A bench comprising Justices S B Sinha and Markandey Katju today directed the state government to approach the High Court which is already seized of the matter.

On the last date of hearing, the apex court had directed the state government to place on record the policy under which the security cover was being provided to those with dubious antecedents.

The government failed to satisfy the apex court today. It failed to provide any satisfactory explanation to the court regarding the law or the policy under which the state was being burdened with the cost of providing security to the criminals while the law and order situation in the state was deteriorating.

The High Court had directed the state government to withdraw security provided to those with criminal track record in view of the violence which rocked the Lucknow university when the VC R P Singh had to close down the university indefinitely and the students and student leaders with criminal background staying in the hostels illegally had to be evicted with the help of the state police. Murder of a student leader in BHU university also indicated increasing nexus between the politicians, criminals and student leaders leading to criminalisation of the campus politics.

The state government had challenged the High Court judgment of December last year on the grounds that it was the function of executive and courts should not interfere with the administrative functions.

The petitioner in the High Court Gayur Hasan Khan had sought the directioons to the state government to withdraw the security cover from those with criminal background as such criminals are used by the political parties to rig the elections by indulging in booth capturing and intimidating voters because they feel secure with gunners escorting these criminals. The High Court order and today's apex court order is a setback for the ruling party in the state as well as other political parties when the state assembly elections are due in the state soon.

UNI