Uttarkashi communal tensions | Paramount duty of the State that law, order and peace is maintained: Nainital HC

The Nainital High Court on June 15, hearing a plea to prevent Hindu outfits from holding a mahapanchayat against love jihad in Uttarkashi, said it is the paramount duty of the State that law, order and peace is maintained and that there is no loss of life and property of any person.

The Nainital High Court on June 15, hearing a plea to prevent Hindu outfits from holding a mahapanchayat against love jihad in Uttarkashi, said it is the paramount duty of the State that law, order and peace is maintained and that there is no loss of life and property of any person.

The court has directed all respondents to take whatever steps necessary to fulfil this Constitutional obligation.

The local administration has imposed prohibitory orders in Purola town to prevent the gathering from taking place.

The Association for the Protection of Civil Rights moved the court after the Supreme Court earlier in the day refused to entertain its plea against the mahapanchayat, but allowed the petitioner to approach the HC or any other authority.

The administration has not given permission for the mahapanchayat.

Communal tension has been brewing in Purola and some other towns of Uttarkashi district after two men, one of them Muslim, allegedly tried to abduct a Hindu girl on May 26. The girl was rescued and the accused sent to judicial custody.

Local trade bodies and right-wing Hindu outfits have run a sustained campaign against what they call cases of love jihad in Purola and neighbouring towns, including Barkot, Chinyalisaur and Bhatwari.