The Supreme Court on Thursday said people “cannot become a law unto themselves” and call for agitations and bandhs against court orders, The Economic Times reported. A bench of the court comprising Justices Dipak Misra and UU Lalit said that it is the “duty of the states to see no agitation, damage or destruction takes place” following an order by a judicial institution.
The bench further said that those who have issues with orders passed by the bench can approach the judiciary. It referred to the apex court’s 2009 judgement regarding the safeguards to be put in place by authorities before a protest and asked states to comply with them. The ruling said agitations needed to be video-graphed, with police securing an undertaking of peace by the organisers of such protests, according to The Hindu. It also calls for reports to be filed with state governments by the police in case of violence.
The court’s remarks came while hearing a petition seeking a directive to authorities in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu to take preventive measures against violence that has broken out as part of the Cauvery dispute. A day-long bandh began in Tamil Nadu on Friday, with the state’s border with Karnataka being secured.
The Supreme Court’s order on September 5 to Karnataka to release 15,000 cusecs of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu every day for 10 days triggered protests among farmers and Kannada organisations. While the court later changed its requirement to 12,000 cusecs of water, violence was reported on both sides of the border, with Kannadigas targeting Tamilians and vice-versa. Karnataka held a statewide bandh on September 9.
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