High Court orders presence of private respondents for hearing on Power Deptt land allotment case

GANGTOK, 09 May: The division bench of the High Court has directed all the 14 private respondents to be present in the next hearing of the case in person to enable the Court to decide the writ petition correctly. This direction has come with regard to the Public Interest Litigation filed by Padam Bahadur Chettri, Sikkim president of the Bharatiya Janata Party, last year alleging that the State government has allotted Power and Energy Department land at Ranipool to SDF party workers including VIPs instead of the Power Department linesman who was supposed to receive an allotment having been handicapped due to electrocution in the line of work.
While passing the direction to the 19 respondents, including that of 5 official respondents, the High Court has directed the Official respondents to ensure that the private respondents are present in person before the High Court on 12 June, adding that it was the obligation of the state respondents to ensure that the private parties were present while hearing the matter.
“As we strongly feel that their personal appearance before this court is essential to enable us to decide the various issues involved in this writ petition correctly, we order that all the party respondents shall appear before this court in person,” the division bench observed.
Out of 13 private respondents, only one respondent who was served a notice through a special messenger of the High Court of Sikkim last month was present in person.