HC tells cops to vacate ground for school kids

SHIMLA: The high court on Tuesday asked police to shift unclaimed vehicles from a ground of a city locality, so that students of a nearby government school could use it as a playground.
A division bench of Chief Justice Kurian Joseph and Justice Sanjay Karol passed the directions on a public interest litigation. It has also asked the SP and the DC, Shimla, to indentify an appropriate land in a month and shift seized vehicles and other unserviceable property lying on Waqf board property in Boileauganj locality.
The board had earlier allowed the education department to use the property as a playground for Government Senior Secondary School, Boileauganj.But it was later rented out to the police department for placing unserviceable property.
"After shifting, the land be made available to the education department for use by students at the same rent at which it was let out to the police department," the court directed. Earlier, the court observed that departments concerned, including police, had no objection, in principle, to making the ground available to students and they only require some place for keeping vehicles involved in cases. It also directed all deputy commissioners to file an affidavit in two months on disposal of unclaimed vehicles and other properties which were obstructing the traffic flow.