SC to hear petition on Manipur blockade today

NEW DELHI, Dec 13 – The over three-month-long road blockade in Manipur has led the Supreme Court to hear a petition seeking directions to Centre and the State Government to ensure free movement on the National Highways running through the State.

The Supreme Court is going to hear the petition tomorrow seeking appropriate action to clear the blockade.

The petition moved by the former Director General of BSF Prakash Singh has sought directions to the Centre and the State Government that they should take steps to ensure that there was no recurrence of such blockades.

Justice GS Singhvi and Justice Jyoti Sudhansu Mukhopadhaya said that it would hear the matter on Tuesday when it had posted the hearing of the case involving the blockade of Highways and railway tracks in Haryana by the people belonging to dominant castes.

The former DGP said that if such blockades recur then appropriate and effective steps should be taken to clear the Highways in the shortest possible time.

The petitioner has also sought imposition of penalties including collective fines, as permissible under the law, against the people or groups involved in economic blockade and disruption of communication lines along the National Highways.