Allahabad High Court stays ADM order to recover damages for Anti-CAA protests from four persons

The Allahabad High Court on Friday passed an interim order effectively staying the directive of the Additional District Magistrate, Bijnor, to recover damages from four persons for the destruction of public property during Anti-CAA protests..The four persons had approached the High Court challenging the ADM's order.The order passed by a Bench of Justices Manoj Misra and Deepak Verma states,.“Till the next date of listing, no recovery shall be made from the petitioner pursuant to the impugned order dated 24.02.2020 passed by Additional District Magistrate (F/R) Bijnor.”Allahabad High Court.The order was passed after taking note that another Bench of the High Court had allowed similar interim relief last month to a person based in Kanpur, who had been issued a similar notice..At the time, the Bench had also specified that the interim relief would be subject to the final outcome of the Supreme Court’s verdict on the issue. That plea was then listed to be taken up by an appropriate Bench in April..Observing that the instant plea was in relation to similar issues, the Bench has directed that both matters be clubbed together and taken up on April 20, by which time the government is also expected to file their response. The order states,.“List this petition along with Criminal Misc. Writ Petition No.1927 of 2020 on 20th April, 2020. By the next date the parties shall exchange their affidavits.”Allahabad High Court.Last month, another Bench of the Allahabad High Court declined to entertain a plea to quash administrative notices issued by the Uttar Pradesh government to recover damages for the loss of public property during anti-CAA protests in the state..The Bench of Justices Pankaj Kumar Jaiswal and Karunesh Singh Pawar passed an order to this effect after it was appraised that a similar plea had been moved in the Supreme Court..On January 31, the Supreme Court Bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and KM Joseph issued notice in the plea to quash the notices in question..Inter alia, the petitioner before the Supreme Court also sought an independent judiciary enquiry into the incidents that occurred during the anti-CAA-NRC protests in Uttar Pradesh..Further, the Court has also been urged to direct the Uttar Pradesh government to follow the procedure as per the guidelines of the Supreme Court in 2009 and 2018, while recovering damages for loss to public property on account of the protests..[Read the Allahabad High Court order]