HC warns penalty for failing to curb nylon manja may be recovered from police officers' salaries
The Bombay High Court's Nagpur bench rebuked the police for inaction on the banned nylon manja and said fines could be recovered from errant officers' pay.
Nagpur: The sale, storage and use of the deadly nylon manja are banned, yet the police have taken no firm action. The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court on Monday sharply rebuked the police over this. The court said plainly that if the police officers concerned fail to discharge their responsibility, recovering the amount of any fine from the salaries of the guilty officers could also be considered.
The High Court had on its own initiated a public interest litigation in 2021, in view of accidents caused by nylon manja and the danger it poses to the lives of people and birds. The matter was heard on Monday by Justice Anil Kilor and Justice Rajnish Vyas.
During the hearing, the court asked the state government how many cases were registered last year over the production, storage, sale and use of nylon manja. It also wanted to know whether, in investigating these cases, the police had tried to trace the real source of the manja. The reply given on behalf of the state government was not satisfactory. Angered by this, the High Court raised serious questions about the way the police work.
Expressing displeasure, the court said it is the police's own responsibility to find the source of the manja and act against those involved in its production and sale. The court should not have to give the police separate directions for this. The court asked whether it would also have to tell the police how to conduct an investigation. The matter has been pending for five years and nylon manja is still being sold and used, which raises serious questions about the police's functioning, it said.
The state's environment department had issued a notification on March 1, 2023, banning the sale and use of nylon manja. Despite this, complaints keep coming in that the ban is not being enforced effectively. Nylon manja is being sold and stored at many places in the city and used for flying kites. In view of this, the court expected strict action from the police.
The High Court directed the police not to take merely token action, but to trace the entire network and source of nylon manja and show the will to take stringent action. It has asked the state government and the police to submit detailed information on the concrete action taken against nylon manja on October 12.
Advocate Nishchay Jadhav appeared as amicus curiae in the case.
