HC directive to State counsel

HEARING A public interest litigation(PIL) petition, seeking probe by the State Human Rights Commission into the fire tragedy at consumer fair at Victoria Park, Meerut, the Allahabad High Court has fixed May 8 and has asked the State counsel, representing the State government, to seek instructions in this regard.

HEARING A public interest litigation(PIL) petition, seeking probe by the State Human Rights Commission into the fire tragedy at consumer fair at Victoria Park, Meerut, the Allahabad High Court has fixed May 8 and has asked the State counsel, representing the State government, to seek instructions in this regard.

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This order was passed by a Division Bench comprising Justice Syed Rafat Alam and Justice Sudhir Agrawal on a PIL filed by People’s Union For Civil Liberties (PUCL) filed through its vice-president Om Dutt Singh after hearing counsel for petitioner- senior advocate Ravi Kiran Jain assisted by KK Roy and the state counsel, representing the state government.

According to the petitioner, local administration and the organisers had committed gross negligence resulting into death of a large number of persons in the devastating fire which took place at the consumer fair at Victoria Park in Meerut on April 10. The PIL alleged that the organisers of trade fair had not made any arrangement to avoid any such accident.

Besides, it was alleged that they had organised the fair without obtaining ‘no-objection certificate’.

It was alleged in the PIL that several persons were still missing.

The PIL requested the court to direct the state government to give interim compensation to the tune of Rs 50 crore, which would be deposited before the Registrar-General for dependants of the victims. Besides, if the State Human Rights Commission thought proper, the matter may be transferred to CBI.

The PIL also alleged that the administration, in order to wipe out the evidence, had run a bulldozer in the park immediately after the fire tragedy.