HC’s go-ahead to sanitising Sirsa dera

Chandigarh, September 5

Allowing the sanitisation of the sprawling Dera Sacha Sauda headquarters in Sirsa under the scrutiny of a retired judicial officer, a Full Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court today appointed former District and Sessions Judge Anil Kumar Singh Pawar as Court Commissioner and directed the Haryana Government to appoint a duty magistrate to facilitate the process.

As an application by Haryana came up for hearing, the Bench of Justices Surya Kant, Augustine George Masih and Avneesh Jhingan made it clear that the entire exercise, to be video-recorded, would be carried out under the instructions, control and supervision of the Court Commissioner and that different agencies, including revenue, taxation, forensic experts and paramilitary forces, would be associated.

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The Court Commissioner would maintain a record of all recoveries and submit a detailed report to the High Court and the state. The Haryana Government, that has been asked to pay an interim amount of Rs 1.25 lakh to the Court Commissioner, would provide him an official vehicle, security and secretarial assistance at Sirsa or any other appropriate place. The Commissioner has been  authorised to take assistance from any agency. 

The state had sought directions for sanitising the dera’s Sirsa headquarters. Haryana Advocate-General Baldev Raj Mahajan submitted that judicial supervision would not prejudice the interests of either party. Besides, the rights of the parties would not be affected in any manner, if the process was overseen by judicial officers.

Yesterday, CM Manohar Lal Khattar had said some “objectionable” items were found during the sanitisation of Namcharcha Ghars. — TNS