UP withdraws revenue recovery notices against anti-CAA protesters

The Uttar Pradesh government will withdraw at least 274 revenue recovery notices issued against those allegedly involved in anti-CAA protests, the state informed the Supreme Court on Friday. The court, however, asked the state to also return money recovered till now after such notices.

UP additional advocate general Garima Parshad informed the court that it had withdrawn the notices. Advocate Nilofer Khan, representing petitioner Parwaiz Arif Titu, said that the state must return the money. Those aggrieved by the notices should have the right to challenge fresh recovery notices and the law itself.

The court, however, said the state government could prosecute anyone under a new law, but the earlier proceedings were irregular as they were issued without a law. SC had earlier asked the state to withdraw the notices or have them quashed on the ground of this irregularity. The court said that the state had neither followed the SC judgement - which requires application of judicial mind to any claim the state brings against any citizen - nor had a law to deal with the damage caused to public property by protesters.


UP had issued hundreds of notices during anti-CAA protests. Petitions were filed in the SC against the arbitrary manner of the notices. In its preliminary assessment, SC said that they were highly irregular as it did not conform with its ruling that mandated a retired judge should decide the claims. But the state notices envisaged a system under which a junior officer handled the claims. The top court was unhappy with the suggestion.

"The idea of our judgement was that there should be accountability when public property is damaged. But a judicial mind has to oversee it and there is application of judicial mind," Justice DY Chandrachud, dealing with the issue with Justice Surya Kant, said. The state enacted a law much after it had issued the notices.