ACP, Muni. Commissioner, Principal Secretary present in Gujarat HC face heat over issues including stray cattle

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat High Court had summoned the principal secretary of the urban development department, the Ahmedabad municipal commissioner, and the police commissioner to elucidate the ongoing failure to execute court mandates aimed at addressing the issue of stray cattle on the streets. Today, with the presence of these officers, the bench of Justices Ashutosh Shastri and Hemant M. Prachchhak came down heavily on the authorities for their failure to curb the stray cattle menace.

Starting the hearing by summoning the Additional Police Commissioner, Justice Ashutosh Shastri said, “The state government has confidence in you, and you have been placed as commissioner of the City of Ahmedabad. Residents of Ahmedabad also have immense confidence in you that you will maintain law and order. Nowadays what is happening, our directions are not being complied with, officers who are going to curb the activity they are being beaten. Police authorities are also being attacked by hooligans. What steps are you going to take?”

Justice Shastri further went on to say, “It’s a very alarming situation that no officer, nobody, is allowed to curb this activity. Gujarat is the safest state in the country; are we to declare it lawless?”

“You must have seen an appraisal of that report by the legal service authorities. What is happening every day in the morning? We are seeing that a few people have died on account of cattle menaces and traffic problems. You are not providing assistance to the municipal authorities. There is a specific affidavit filed stating that, for want of police assistance, we are unable to carry out the directions. What is to be done?” asked Justice Shastri.

The bench further said, “The stars on the shoulder are a sign of the great responsibility with which you are responsible for maintaining law and order. You are not less than the soldier; soldiers are protecting the citizen at the border from cross-border terrorism. Here you are within the boundary, which you are protecting. We are giving the wrong message to society that the police are unable to carry out We have seen with open eyes near Zydus that one police officer was surrounded by 10 to 15 bikers armed with sticks, and the police ran away. What kind of message are we giving to society?”

“And see the report; it is alarming, as if no rule of law is prevailing. We don’t allow our citizens to be at the mercy of this ineffectiveness. What are the solutions that you have in mind? We are very disturbed by this report that we have seen. On paper, we were under the impression that every step was being taken in a regular manner, but the report is quite alarming, which is contrary to what is prevailing on the record,” added Justice.

As the Advocate General Kamal Trivedi approached the bench, he stated that “we lack some coordination somewhere.” Justice Shastri highlighted the fact that “even the deputy municipal commissioner was attacked.”

The government counsel replied that “it should not have happened”, “All we need to do is coordinate, and that is being done. Under the leadership of the principal secretary, even the chief secretary is very much in the picture. Yesterday we also had a meeting, and we are going to have this kind of meeting on a day-to-day basis. This policy provides a buffer period that is going to expire in November. In the meantime, we are trying to see that, at least in our records, we collect information about the person, such as how many animals he has, so that we can start impounding. We are also thinking of providing some kind of space outside the city or village where these animals are kept. So many things were going on,” the government lawyer submitted.

The bench replied, stating, “We had prepared the order yesterday, but at the request of the learned advocate general, we deferred the issue. You take some stringent measures; you can’t be tolerated like this. A few hooligans are frustrating the entire implementation; the municipal department is attacked, and police authorities are attacked whenever they go to curb this activity. We can’t tolerate this.”

“You must take the strictest action permissible within the law. With an iron hand, we cannot allow our citizens to be at the mercy of these kinds of elements,” ordered the bench.

Summoning the Municipal Commissioner of Ahmedabad, M. Thersaran, Justice Shastri said, “Where is the daily monitoring? In your affidavit, you have said that we are personally monitoring it daily. What does the report say? asked the justice.

The Municipal Commissioner stated that from September onwards, the policy was implemented, and we have captured close to 5,000 elements. To which the bench said, “Still, the situation in many areas is going wrong. It is very easy for us to just frame the charges, but that would not be in the best interest of all.

The government counsel asked for some time, and the bench said that they will only grant one week to determine whether the situation is improved or not; otherwise, they will pass the order that is kept ready. “Coordinated efforts must be there. We cannot tolerate such a thing going on,” said the justice.

Further Justice Shashti, addressing the principal secretary, said, “Have you seen this outside the city? What is happening? all across the state, and daily newspapers are reporting that deaths are occurring on account of this uncontrolled menace. You have to put some checks on this with an iron hand. We cannot tolerate this. We will grant only one week, and we will see whether the situation has improved or not and what steps are taken. Otherwise, the order is ready. The learned advocate general is aware of this, but for the request, we have differed.”

Posting the matter for hearing after a week, the bench said, “What kind of steps are in contemplation? Whether the situation is improving or not, we would like to ensure our people have faith in this system. The law and order agency must have some control over the people who are troubling the issues.”

“If the people are not improving, it is for the authority to curb these activities; we cannot allow such acts to go on. We will keep this matter on the 6th. Let us see what kind of efforts you are making and whether the situation has improved or not. Till then, we defer the issue; don’t take it personally, but people have faith in the system; let that faith prevail. That’s the reason we are reflecting,” added Justice Shastri.

Later, at the request of the government counsel, the hearing was posted for November 7th. DeshGujarat