SC stays HC order on reopening of road outside Punjab CM’s residence

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday stayed an order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court to open the road outside the residence of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on an experimental basis for general public.

A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta issued notice to the Chandigarh Union Territory administration on a plea by the Punjab government, which claimed threat perception to the CM.

“Nobody wants anything untoward to happen. Issue notice. Direction on opening road on trial basis is stayed till further orders but the writ petition proceedings before the High Court can continue," the bench said.

The court took into record a submission by the Punjab's Advocate General Gurminder Singh that in recent years there has been a resurgence of terrorism and that grenades were thrown at the intelligence building.

It is not advisable to open the road even on an experimental basis, he said.

On April 27, the High Court had in its order directed the Chandigarh administration to formulate a plan to ease the traffic congestion by opening the 500-metre road in front of the Chief Minister’s residence on an experimental basis from May 1.

The opening of the road was to be made on a trial basis from May 1 from 7 am to 7 pm on all working days.

The Punjab government and the Chandigarh administration approached the Supreme Court.

The AG, while seeking an immediate stay of the HC order, cited the example of the killing of popular Punjabi singer, Sidhu Moosewala, and said that he was killed "soon after his security was withdrawn".

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Chandigarh administration, submitted the move could have grave implications for "somebody's life".

"This is playing with somebody's life," he said.

Mehta refered to a dialogue in a film "that terrorists have to succeed only once, but the agencies must succeed each time".

The particular stretch of the road was closed in the 1980s due to the prevailing insurgency and the rise in the number of terrorism cases.