BHOPAL: Taking cue from Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, the BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh has decided to frame a law to recover from protestors and rioters the damages caused to public and private properties during violent protests, strikes and communal riots.
The cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday gave nod to the draft of Madhya Pradesh Lok Evam Niji Sampati Ka Nuksan Nivaran Evam Nusksani Ki Vasuli (Redressal and Recovery of Damages to Public and Private Properties) Bill 2021. The Bill will be introduced in the Vidhan Sabha session starting from December 20.
Home Minister Narottam Mishra confirmed that the cabinet had approved the draft Bill.
“The proposed Bill, after it becomes a law, will pave the path for recovery of damages caused to public and private properties from the protestors who caused the damages and from those who provoked protestors for causing the damage,” Mishra said.
The proposed Bill contains a provision for constituting a Claims Tribunal to determine the compensation for the damages.
The proposed Bill provides for the tribunal to award compensation up to the extent of two times of actual damage. The tribunal will have the powers of a civil court.
As per the MP bill, during a trial, once the prosecution succeeds in proving that public property was damaged in direct actions called by an organization in which the accused also participated, the court can draw a presumption that the accused is guilty of destroying public property too.
The onus of proving innocence will be on him or her from this stage of trial onwards, officials said.
It will be open for accused to rebut such presumption, the bill stated.
Abetment of offence shall carry the same penalty as the main offence.
The Madhya Pradesh Damage to Public and Private Property Recovery Bill, 2021 was approved at a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan here, Home Minister Narottam Mishra told reporters.
The bill focuses on those indulging in communal riots, hartals (general strikes), protests and those who take out rallies during which property is damaged, and such accused will be tried before criminal tribunals, he said.
The bill is expected to be tabled during the winter session of the state Assembly which will start on December 20.
Under the UP law, Claim Tribunals set up under the Act are supposed to decide matters in one year, while the MP bill reduces this time to three months, an official said.
The Bill also proposes a provision that `specified categories' of leaders of the organization which gave the call for direct action resulting in damage to public property shall be deemed guilty of abetment.
At the same time, no innocent person, in spite of being a leader of the organisation, shall be made to suffer for the actions of others, the bill said.
The principles of absolute liability shall apply once the nexus with the event that precipitated the damage is established, the bill stated.
The liability will be borne by the actual perpetrators of the crime as well as organisers of the event.
"Exemplary damages" may be awarded to an extent not greater than twice the amount of the damages liable to be paid, the Bill said.
Last year, the UP government came out with an ordinance titled "Uttar Pradesh Recovery of Damages to Public and Private Property Act 2020" which was cleared by its Assembly in March 2021.
The ordinance was issued in the midst of protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
In May 2021, the BJP government in Haryana followed the suit with the enactment of The Haryana Recovery of Damages to Property During Disturbance to Public Order Act, 2021.
MP chief minister Chouhan had said in January this year that a law was needed to deal with stone-pelting after violence was reported during processions taken out in western MP to collect funds for the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
While the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and other right-wing organisations alleged that stones were hurled during the processions, Muslims in the region claimed that their places of worship and houses were targeted during these events.
(With PTI Inputs)