Salwa Judum: SC disagrees with Chhattisgarh Govt

The Supreme Court today did not approve Chhattisgarh Government's idea to run schools at alternative sites without disturbing para-military personnel stationed in them in Naxal-hit districts of the state.

The Supreme Court today did not approve Chhattisgarh Government's idea to run schools at alternative sites without disturbing para-military personnel stationed in them in Naxal-hit districts of the state.

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"We are not going to buy this argument. You have to vacate the schools," a bench comprising Justices B Sudershan Reddy and S S Nijjar said.

The remarks by the bench came during the hearing of petitions against the anti-Naxal vigilante group Salwa Judum.

Chhattisgarh Government submitted that since central forces were stationed in schools, it has made alternative arrangments for running schools in the Maoist-hit villages.

The court, during the earlier hearing, had asked the state government to remove security forces from schools and ashrams.

Senior advocate Harish Salve and Atul Jha, appearing for the state government, said a response would be filed in this regard after taking instructions from the authorities.

Additional Solicitor General Indira Jaising supported the stand taken by the bench and said in a separate matter, the court has asked the authorites in north-eastern states to move out central forces stationed in school buildings.

The bench fixed the next date of hearing on December 15.

The bench also asked the state government to consider the plea of restoring security to an ex-MLA, who had apprehended threat to his life from Salwa Judum and some corporate groups.

Manish Kurjam is one of the petitioner along with Kartam Joga, a Leftist leader, who was arrested on September 14 in connection with April 6 incident when 76 CRPF personnel were killed in an ambush by Maoists.

The state government had withdrawn Kurjam's security recently.

The Chhattisgarh Government had on October 28 filed an affidavit stating that Maoist outfits and Naxalites were targeting schools, panchayats and hospital buildings and that anti-Naxal vigilante group Salwa Judum has become infructous.

However, the petitioners, who have sought a direction to the state government to refrain from allegedly supporting and encouraging Salwa Judum, had said though it (Salwa Judum) is in animated suspension, it has been revived under new name which the state government has never acknowledged.

The court was hearing the PIL filed by sociologist Nandini Sundar, historian Ramchandra Guha, former bureaucrat E A S Sarma and others, seeking a direction to the state government to refrain from allegedly supporting and encouraging Salwa Judum.