HC stays action in Nainisar case

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 28

The Uttarakhand High Court has stayed the proceedings of a lower court against 381 persons, booked in November 2015 by the state government for opposing land allotment to a private school at Nainisar in Almora district.

Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia passed the order on Monday on a petition filed by PC Tewari, president of the Uttarakhand Parivartan Party (UPP).

Justice Dhulia stayed the proceedings of a lower court against the protesters and asked the state government to file its reply within four weeks.

The UPP had opposed the allotment of 7.061 hectares of panchayat land at Nainisar in Almora district to Himanshu Education Society for constructing a residential school.

In November 2015, the UPP, along with other social groups, had held a protest against the alleged illegal allotment of panchayat land and the police had charged 381 persons with various offences of breach of peace. The government had filed chargesheets against 31 persons in the lower court.

The UPP had alleged that the panchayat land was allotted for a 30-year lease on a meagre price of Rs 1,200 per annum without taking the villagers into confidence.

The government had been in the controversy and had resorted to tough measures against those opposing the move.

Earlier, Chief Minister Harish Rawat had stated that he would go by the sentiments of locals but later started initiating action against the protesters.

The villagers had alleged that the land was allotted to favour a particular industrial house and the international school charging an exhorbitant fee would not benefit local students, as claimed by the Chief Minister.