Rakesh Bhatnagar/DNA 
 
New Delhi, Dec 2: The Supreme Court on Monday December 1 directed the BJP and its ally Shiv Sena to deposit the amount of fine of Rs20 lakh that the Bombay High Court (HC) had imposed on each of them three years ago. The fine was levied for enforcing a bandh in the city in protest against the bomb blast at Ghatkopar in which four people were killed and 48 injured in July 2003.

While issuing the notice to the Maharashtra government and its police department on the appeals by two political parties, the apex court directed the political outfits to deposit the amount first within a week so that their appeals filed in 2005 could be taken up for hearing.

The HC had said that the protest bandh was unconstitutional and violated citizens’ fundamental rights. It directed the two political parties to deposit with the state government Rs20 lakh each as compensation which was to be credited to “the 30 July, 2003 Bandh Loss Compensation Fund.”

The amount, according to the HC, would be utilised for providing various civic facilities to Mumbai residents.

HC’s order was a fallout of PILs filed by a group of citizens and socialites from Mumbai seeking action against the two political organisations for “violating” their fundamental right to liberty’’.

Challenging HC judgment, both parties say the bandh evoked wholehearted support from various quarters, including Muslim organisations and Left parties. The bandh was a reaction of the people’s anger against the terrorist acts, the appeals said, adding some “busybodies” which are anti-Shiv Sena and BJP had filed the PILs which imposed the fine without properly evaluating the issue.