Chandigarh – The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Friday refused to immediately intervene in a public interest litigation (PIL) related to the devastating floods in Punjab. The bench observed that judicial directions at this stage could distract officials engaged in urgent relief operations.
Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sanjiv Berry noted that officers must focus on ground realities. “If we require them to file affidavits now, they will move away from relief efforts and get entangled in paperwork, which is not appropriate at this time,” the bench remarked.
The petitioner argued that the floods were the result of government and authority mismanagement, and that relief measures were being carried out on a very limited scale. The court, however, was not convinced and decided to hear the matter next week along with other similar petitions. Chief Justice Nagu stated, “We will take it up on Monday.”
During the hearing, Additional Solicitor General Satya Pal Jain informed the court that both the central and state governments were actively involved in relief work. He said, “The Government of India and the Punjab Government are making every effort. The Agriculture Minister himself visited the site yesterday. This is not the time to raise such issues.”
The Punjab government’s counsel also pointed out that the Supreme Court had already taken cognizance of the Punjab flood situation during proceedings on Thursday.
It is noteworthy that on September 2, the High Court had also declined to pass any order on a similar PIL that sought judicial oversight of flood relief and rehabilitation measures.
