Fundamental Rights denied in Nandigram: HC

The Calcutta High Court has directed the West Bengal government to ensure normalcy in the trouble -torn Nandigram villages in East Midnapore district.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice S S Nijjar and Justice P C Ghose directed the government to provide ration, kerosene and other essentials to the thousands of people rendered homeless because of the ongoing clashes in the area.

The court observed that prima facie it appeared that the people of Nandigram had been denied their Fundamental Rights under Article 21.

The court asked the government to ensure that they did not face any obstruction in going to markets, schools and colleges.

The state would also have to provide free medical assistance to the residents of the affected areas.

The state government earlier placed a status report, as demanded by the court yesterday. In the report, the state government conceded that the situation in Nandigram was very serious and two warring groups were clashing continuously.

Advocate General Balai Roy told the court that no SEZ would come up in Nandigram. He, however, observed that SEZs were generally set up near seaside. On this, the Chief Justice pointed out to him that the landlocked Haryana, which had the highest number of SEZs in the country, did not have a seaport. "SEZs are supposed to be set up on uninhabited and barren land," the court observed.

Several petitioners pleaded for a further CBI inquiry into the Nandigram police action on the ground that the probe agency had failed to complete its work due to time crunch.

The advocate general said that the state was open to any probe including a judicial one, but not a CBI inquiry. He said that the state government had filed a petition before the Supreme Court on the question of a CBI inquiry without the consent of the state concerned.

The court had yesterday asked the state government to submit before it a status report on the situation in Nandigram to get a clear picture after making the CBI report public.

The CBI in its report said it would be possible to ascertain the quantum of force used and its justification and the actual happenings only after a thorough and detailed investigation.

The court had observed that the CBI report on the March 14 Nandigram police firing was inconclusive.

Meanwhile, the state government has ruled out deployment of Army or paramilitary forces in Nandigram.

It said, if required, the police would enter the troubled area to restore peace. "They would obey the direction of the court," home secretary P R Roy said.

Roy said the court did not give any direction to deploy paramilitary force in the area. "We do not think that deployment of paramilitary forces will solve the problem or change the situation in Nandigram. Peace will not return unless good sense prevailed among the people," he said.

Roy observed that 400 families were still homeless in Nandigram.

The area had undergone turmoil since January over a notification for land acquisition for the proposed chemical hub to be developed by the Indonesia based Salim Group.

The police have not been able to enter most villages in Nandigram since January when violence erupted, leaving seven persons dead. When the police tried to enter the area on March 14, another 14 people were killed.