Himachal Pradesh government assures security for India-Pakistan match
India are scheduled to play Pakistan on March 19 in Dharamshala. (File Photo)
In a fresh development, Himachal Pradesh government on Friday assured Himachal Pradesh High Court to provide security for World T20 match between India and Pakistan, which has run into trouble following protests and opposition by families of martyrs and some organisations.
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A division bench comprising Chief Justice Mansoor Ahmad Mir and Justice Sureshwar Thakur on Friday passed the orders on the PIL hoping that state government will perform its legal obligation to maintain law and order at Dharamshala during the match.
“We hope and trust that, in the meantime, the respondents (government) will resolve the controversy at their own level, while keeping in view the national interests, and the learned Advocate General will put his best efforts,” the order said. The bench also put it on record that state’s Advocate General Shravan Dogra has also conveyed to the court, during the hearing, that state was under legal obligation to maintain law and order in the state.
“His statement (Advocate General) is taken on record. Keeping in view the statement made by the learned Advocate General, the writ petition is disposed off alongside all pending applications,” it said.
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The orders were passed on a PIL filed by one Sudhir Prakash Dogra, a resident of Shimla, who claimed that due to controversies created by some sections, uncertainty prevails over the holding of the match at Dharamshala, which is part of a series of 10 matches to be held there. He asserted that if the match was cancelled, it would dent the image of the country and also cause a huge loss to the state. The petition also said the preparations for the matches were going on for past one year.
Dogra, who is an employee at Accountant General’s office quoted newspaper reports wherein the Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh had expressed helplessness to provide security to the match because of the protests and opposition from the families of the martyrs and exservicesmen’s body. He sought court’s intervention to direct the government to resolve the controversy and enable the BCCI to hold the match.
The court fixed the next date of hearing on March 9 to decide on maintainability of the petition but reposed trust in the assurance given by the Advocate General to maintain law and order in Dharamshala during the match.
