By IANS,
New Delhi : The Supreme Court Tuesday agreed to hear a public interest petition seeking an end to attacks on people from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in Maharashtra.
The bench of Justices B.N. Aggrawal and G.S. Singhvi was initially not inclined to entertain the petition filed by Salek Chand Jain, a Mumbai-based businessman, and said it was for the central government to invoke Article 355 for giving appropriate directions to any state.
“Can it be done through an order of this court? It is a political question not a court issue. If there is a political will, it can be tackled,” it observed.
However, the apex court later said the issue was serious and agreed to hear the matter. But it directed the petitioner’s counsel Sugriv Dubey to suitably amend the petition so that it can be taken up for hearing Nov 10.
Dubey, who mentioned the matter before the bench, said the recent attacks on north Indians by Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) had led to a chain reaction elsewhere in the country and threatened to destroy the unity and integrity of the country.