Kochi: Kerala High Court asked the state government on Saturday, on how it plans to recover the loss of KSRTC buses vandalised in hartal called by the Popular Front of India (PFI). The court directed the government to submit a report before October 17, and demanded that action should be strict and speedy.
The court viewed that people who called for the hartal and vandalised KSRTC buses are liable to pay the compensation to KSRTC. Additionally, the court also directed the state government to recoup losses incurred due to disruptions in KSRTC services. As per the existing rules, the accused is eligible for bail only after submitting the compensation to the court. If they fail to do so, the government has the option to confiscate the properties owned by the accused.
Kerala Government has been asked to inform the court about the actions taken to recover the money from the accused. The government should share this with the chief secretary and the transport department secretary. Several KSRTC buses were attacked by hartal supporters across the state. As per the data released by the transport minister Antony Raju, KSRTC incurred a loss of Rs 30 lakh.
The High Court had registered a case against PFI suo motu as the lightning strike was called without giving a 7-day prior notice to the authorities. The court also said that such lightning strike calls should be met with iron fists. A division bench of Justice AK Jayasankaran Nambiar and Justice Mohammad Niaz had directed that a police report be filed, specifying the loss of public and private property in the violence.
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