On Saturday, 4th May, the Supreme Court of India stayed an order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court directing the authorities to clear the Chandigarh-Mohali road that has been blocked by a group of protesters since January 2023. A 3-judge bench of Justice BR Gavai, Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Sandeep Mehta issued notice on a plea filed by the Government of Punjab seeking a response from the Centre, the Chandigarh Administration, and the NGO Arrive Safe Society in the matter. Notably, Arrive Safe Society had approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court to get the road cleared.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appeared for the Centre in the matter and supported the stand of the Government of Punjab. He said, “We are supporting each other. Federalism is always protected except when it comes to corruption. In Covid times, every state and the Centre worked together.” Advocate General for Punjab Gurminder Singh sought a stay on the High Court’s order.
Punjab and Haryana High Court ordered to clear Chandigarh-Mohali Road on 9th April
In an order dated 9th April, the Punjab and Haryana High Court said that it gave several opportunities to the State of Punjab and the Union Territory of Chandigarh but both failed to provide any redress to the commuters of SAS Nagar Mohali and Chandigarh. The court said, “On account of a handful of people sitting and blocking the road, inconvenience is being caused to the commuters and residents of the Tri-city and the misery is continuing.” The court also objected to the fact that protesters were using Shri Guru Granth Sahib as a shield at the protest site.
The court had noted, “Only because some of the protestors have been hiding behind a shield of religious legitimacy by placing the Guru Granth Sahib would not as such give the State reason not to act against the persons concerned, who are misusing the religious sentiments.”
In its order, the High Court had cited the observations made by the Supreme Court of India in Shaheen Bagh Protests case where the apex court had said that public places cannot be occupied indefinitely.
The court noted that there was no large gathering given harvesting time making it the best opportunity to clear the blockade but the governments did not take any action. The court said, “Even though it is well known that all the agitators from the rural background are busy in harvesting and it is most opportune time to remove the blockage of the road, the State of Punjab and the Union Territory, Chandigarh, are dragging their feet for the reasons best known to them.”
The Government of India was made a party on 9th October in the matter. A notice was issued to the Director General of Police, Punjab in the matter as well.
The protesters sitting on the road are seeking release of Sikh prisoners including Balwant Singh Rajoana who was convicted in the assassination of former Chief Minister of Punjab Beant Singh. Another such prisoner on the list is Devinderpal Singh Bhullar who was convicted in the 1993 Delhi Bomb Blast case.
Arrive Safe Society’s fight for a better commute on Chandigarh-Mohali Road
OpIndia spoke to the founder of Arrive Safe Society, Harman Singh Sidhu, the main petitioner in the matter where the Punjab and Haryana High Court ordered the Punjab and Chandigarh administrations to find a solution for the road blockade on Chandigarh-Mohali Road. Sidhu himself is a road accident survivor who has been fighting for the rights of commuters for decades. He met with an accident in 1996 that left him wheelchair-bound due to a spine injury. He founded the Arrive Safe Society to make the roads safer and worked extensively to bring changes in the laws to ensure road safety.
Sidhu found it interesting that the plea in the Supreme Court was filed by the Punjab Government against the order to find a solution for the blockade created by Quami Insaaf Morcha in January 2023. He said, “It is interesting to note that on the same day, the Supreme Court passed two orders staying two Punjab and Haryana High Court’s orders. The apex court stayed the High Court’s order to find a solution for the blockage and also stayed the order to open a 500-metre stretch of road that has been closed since the 1980s outside Punjab’s Chief Minister’s residence.”
For those who are unaware, a 500-metre stretch outside the Punjab CM’s residence was closed in the 1980s after the rise of terrorism in the state. The High Court ordered to open the stretch on an “experimental basis” from 1st May initially from 7 AM to 7 PM.
He said, “Government must ensure safe movement of traffic. However, both the Union Territory of Chandigarh and the Punjab government in a way told the Supreme Court to let the commuters suffer. For long, Chandigarh kept saying in the court that the protesters were sitting in Punjab and Punjab kept saying that they were sitting in Chandigarh. The reality is, that the protesters cover both. They kept passing the buck.”
“The last orders by the High Court were not direct orders to remove the blockage. The court simply asked Chandigarh and Punjab to find a solution by the next hearing. However, it appears both governments thought that the High Court might issue an unfavourable order probably because of the elections in the next hearing, so they approached the Supreme Court. What else could be the reason?”
Sidhu is the man behind ban on liquor shops on highways. He had filed a petition via his NGO in the Punjab and Haryana court seeking a ban on the sale of liquor along state and national highways. The court prohibited the sale along highways which was challenged by the Punjab and Haryana in the Supreme Court. The apex court upheld the verdict of the High Court and the ban came into force on 1st April 2017.
Qaumi Insaaf Morcha protest demanding release of Sikh prisoners
The protesters blocking the Chandigarh-Mohali Road are linked to Qaumi Insaaf Morcha. The protest has been going on since 7th January, and their main demand is to release Sikh prisoners also known as ‘Bandi Sikhs’. Initially, the protesters went on a march from Amb Sahib Gurdwara in Mohali to Chandigarh but they were stopped at the border. They created a protest site on the road and since then, they have been sitting there.
The main focus of the protest was to get nine Sikh prisoners released from the jail who have been behind bars for 15 to 31 years. These prisoners are Khalistani terrorists who were linked to Beant Singh’s assassination and other terror attacks.
Devinderpal Singh Bhullar – He was involved in the 1993 Delhi bomb blast. He has been in jail since 1995. His death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment.
Gurdeep Singh Khera – He was arrested for bomb blasts in Delhi and Karnataka. He was jailed in 1990 and is serving two life sentences.
Lakhwinder Singh (Lakha) – He was convicted in the assassination of Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh. He has been behind bars since 1995.
Gurmeet Singh (Meeta) – He was involved in Beant Singh’s assassination. He was jailed in 1995.
Shamsher Singh – He was convicted in the Beant Singh murder case and was jailed in 1995.
Paramjit Singh Bheora – He was also linked to Beant Singh’s murder. He has been in jail since 1997. He once escaped from prison but was caught again.
Balwant Singh Rajoana – Convicted and sentenced to death in the Beant Singh case. His sentence was later stayed and is pending commutation to life imprisonment.
Jagtar Singh Hawara – He was also jailed for Beant Singh’s murder in 1995. He escaped in 2004 and was recaptured in 2005.
Jagtar Singh Tara – He was also arrested for involvement in Beant Singh’s murder. He escaped in 2004 but was caught in 2015.
Notably, in February 2023, a clash broke out between police personnel and “protesters” linked to Qaumi Insaaf Morcha at Chandigarh-Mohali border. At least 33 police personnel, including female police officers, were injured, and dozens of police vehicles were damaged by armed Sikh protesters near the Chandigarh-Mohali border on the Sector 52-Sector 53 dividing road. The violent clash lasted over two hours. 22 police personnel of Chandigarh Police and 11 of Mohali police were reportedly injured. Seven of them were female police personnel. Nine were from Rapid Action Force, and three were Home Guards volunteers. All of them were rushed to the hospital. Before the protesters left the scene, they allegedly took away a fire tender and over a dozen barricades of Chandigarh Police with them. While returning to Mohali after the violence, the protesters tried to march towards the police barricades placed by Mohali Police.
