New Delhi, November 1
The Supreme Court today suggested formation of a Central security agency for preventing or minimising damage to public and private property during frequent agitations, similar to the recent stir by Jats for getting job quota that turn violent.

A Bench comprising Justices GS Singhvi and SJ Mukhopadhaya mooted the idea during the hearing of two PILs on the issue. Pointing out rail and road blockades resulted in losses to the railways and the state transport department that operated buses, the Bench noted that multiple security forces were responsible for dealing with such agitations at present.

The agitators were in a position to go on a rampage and damage property as the security personnel belonging to various forces took time to put their act together and launch a coordinated effort to crack down on the mob, the apex court noted.

The proposed Central agency should ensure speedy coordination and act independently without being subjected to “pulls and pressures,” it remarked.

The court made the suggestion when Solicitor General Rohinton Nariman and Additional SG Harin Raval listed the steps being taken to ensure better coordination among the police and other security forces to deal with agitators. The SG said the government would prepare a “comprehensive” plan and submit it to the Bench.

The Bench wanted to know as to how the security forces would handle violent mobs in far-flung areas of the country if they were not effective in the Central parts hit by the Jat stir and other agitations that invariably lasted several months.

The Railways and the Haryana Government have filed affidavits in the SC, putting their losses during the Jat stir at Rs 34 crore and Rs 46 lakh, respectively.