Mumbai: In a significant verdict, the Bombay High Court today (July 23, 2004) directed Shiv Sena and the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) to pay Rs 20 lakh each as compensation for causing public losses due to the city bundh called by them on July 30 2003 to protest against the serial bomb blasts.

The compensation will be collected in a fund that will be used for public utility services, acting Chief Justice A P Shah and Justice S U Kamdar observed while disposing of a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by an NGO and two others.

The PIL, filed by AGNI, theatre personality Alyque Padamsee and former Municipal Commissioner B G Deshmukh, alleged that the city suffered an estimated loss of Rs 50 crore owing to the bundh called by the Shiv Sena.

It was submitted that the bundh was forced on the people and was against the Supreme Court order of 1997, which had prohibited political parties from resorting to such methods of agitation.

Shiv Sena and BJP emphatically denied that they had enforced the July 30 bundh and said it was rather spontaneous.

Shiv Sena secretary Subhash Desai said in the affidavit that in a democracy, industrial and political actions do result in disruption of services causing inconvenience to people.

But the Supreme Court has held that only if a bundh was forced on the people it was violative of Fundamental Rights enshrined in Articles 19 and 21 of the Constitution. In this case, the bundh was spontaneous.

Shiv Sena emphasised that the bundh was called by the saffron parties to protest against the cowardly act of the terrorists who had killed innocent people allegedly to create a rift between Hindus and Muslims and to protest the inaction of the state to effectively deal with such activities.

The bundh was spontaneous and was supported from all quarters including political parties and organisations who are otherwise opposed to BJP-Shiv Sena alliance, the Sena secretary said.

Shiv Sena submitted that during the period 1990 to 2003 almost more than 80 bomb blasts had occurred in the city and more than 300 innocent persons had lost their lives and equal number were injured.

The July 30 bundh was called to express the general feeling of protest against the bomb blast in Ghatkopar in which four persons were killed and over 48 injured, Desai submitted. It was also to protest against the failure of the State Government to control terrorist activities.

The bundh was by and large peaceful and there was no violation of Fundamental Rights of citizens as alleged by PIL, the Sena leader contended. He also denied that the party had forcibly stopped buses and trains from plying thereby blocking road and rail traffic.

The BJP also supported the Sena's stand and urged for dismissal of the PIL saying it was misconceived and devoid of any merits. It opposed the plea of petitioners to order these political parties to pay Rs 50 crore compensation for the losses suffered. The BJP said this figure was exaggerated and based on surmises and false projections.