Refund fine, restore properties of anti-CAA protesters, Supreme Court directs UP govt

New Delhi: In a setback to the Uttar Pradesh government, the Supreme Court Friday directed it to refund the fine and restore the attached properties of the alleged anti-CAA protesters for causing damage to public and private assets in December 2019.

The apex court said it is a case of unjust enrichment, and the state can very well recover the damages under the new law, once it is established before the claims tribunal that public and private properties were damaged.

The UP government told the top court that it has withdrawn 274 recovery notices and subsequent proceedings initiated against anti-CAA protesters in 2019 for property damages.

A bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud and Surya Kant granted liberty to the UP government to proceed against alleged anti-CAA protesters under the new law — Uttar Pradesh Recovery of Damages to Public and Private Property Act notified on August 31, 2020.

Orders in pursuance to the show cause notices have been withdrawn, in terms of the government orders (GOs) by the state of Uttar Pradesh, there shall be refund of any recoveries which have been made in the meantime. This will, however, be without prejudice to such action as may be warranted, in terms of the proceedings and decisions of the claims tribunals, at the subsequent stage, it said.

The bench said it is a very important Constitutional principle that all deterrence against the evasion of law has to be provided in the four corners of the law.

There cannot be any principle of deterrence, which lies outside the fold of law, the bench said, adding that after the withdrawal of orders, it will be a case of "unjust enrichment".

It noted the submission of Additional Advocate General Garima Prashad, appearing for Uttar Pradesh, that on February 14 and 15, 2022, two GOs were issued in terms of which show cause notices in 274 cases for alleged destruction of public properties since December 2019 have been withdrawn together with the proceedings which were subsequently carried out.

In view of the enactment of the Uttar Pradesh Recovery of Damage to Public and Private Property Act, 2020, it has been stated that the state government would refer all the cases to the claims tribunal which has been constituted in pursuance of the state legislation for further action in accordance with law. In view of the above statement made on behalf of the state government nothing further would survive, the bench said.

The apex court was hearing a plea filed by one Parwaiz Arif Titu seeking quashing of notices sent to alleged protesters by the district administration for recovering losses caused by damage to public properties during the anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) agitations in UP and asked the state to respond to it.