The Madhya Pradesh High Court today directed the state machinery to ensure that the bandh called by opposition Congress over Vyapam scam on July 16 passes off peacefully.
The division bench of Justices Rajendra Menon and S K Gupta also said that the organisers of the bandh would have to pay compensation for the damage to public property, if any.
The order came during the hearing of separate petitions filed by Amit Sahu, Pankaj Raj and Sudhanshu Gupta against the bandh call.
Congress has called the state-wide general strike to press its demand of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's resignation over the Vyapam scandal.
The petitioners demand that there should be no road blockades and forcible closure of educational institutions, markets, etc., on that day.
The petitioners' counsel J K Pillai and Aditya Khandekar also sought a court direction to the state machinery to ensure that traffic is not obstructed. The protesters should not stop any person from doing business, trade or any other work for earning livelihood, they said.
The lawyers cited past rulings of the High Court and the apex court in this regard.
The High Court directed the authorities to ensure that there was no untoward incident. It also issued notices to Congress general secretary and in-charge of party affairs in the state Mohan Prakash and state Congress president Arun Yadav, the state government, the Director General of Police and the home department, seeking replies within two weeks.
