Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly today passed a bill relating to recovery and redressal of damage to public and private properties during strikes, protests and communal riots.
The bill passed in the assembly without any debate and amid a walkout by the Congress as Leader of the Opposition Kamal Nath was not given a chance to speak on the resolution related to OBC reservation in the state.
The Madhya Pradesh Damage to Public and Private Property Recovery Bill, 2021 mandates that people or organisations responsible for damaging public and private property during protests should pay for the damage. The bill will now be sent to the Governor.
Madhya Pradesh will become the third BJP-ruled state, after Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, to have this kind of law.
Legislative Affairs Minister Narottam Mishra presented the bill in the assembly.
According to the bill, the state government can form a claims tribunal headed by a retired district judge or a retired secretary of the state government for affected areas and relevant durations. Affected parties can file an application within a month. The tribunal can appoint a claims commissioner to help in the investigation of claims.
Once the prosecution succeeds in proving that public property was damaged in direct actions called by an organisation 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.
The bill also allows for penalties from those who encourage and abet acts which result in the damage of public or private property.
The tribunal can award compensation of up to twice the value of the damages. If the compensation decided by the tribunal is not paid within 15 days, the accused will be liable to pay interest over the compensation amount and also pay for the amount spent by the affected party in the process of the application. The tribunal, which will be accorded the same powers as a civil court, must decide on the claims within three months.
The bill allows for the seizure of assets to pay the compensation in case the accused doesn't pay within 15 days. It also proposes a provision that "specified categories" of leaders of the organisation which gave the call for direct action resulting in damage to public property shall be deemed guilty of abetment.