CHANDIGARH: A Division Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, comprising Justices Hemant Gupta and Jaswant Singh, has issued show-cause notice to a Rohtak brick-kiln owner for allegedly attacking the court’s warrant officer who had gone to get 50 bonded labourers freed.
Haroon, a resident of Muzaffar nagar, had filed a habeas corpus petition that 50 persons, including his wife and two children, were being kept as bonded labourers at a brick” kiln in Rohtak, in the name of KEL. The owner, Jatinder Singh, had hired them after assuring them daily wages of Rs 260 but later allegedly did not pay them and deployed musclemen to prevent them from leaving.
On December 29, 2009, the court appointed Udham Singh as a warrant officer and directed him to visit the spot and get the labourers freed.
Udham Singh, in his report, stated that he got the labourers freed. However, as they were travelling in a truck and he in a car, 17 persons, led by Jatinder Singh, stopped them near Gohana and threatened him. Haroon was beaten up mercilessly. They forced the warrant officer to follow the truck, which could not be located. Udham Singh was released but they took away Haroon.
After considering the report of the warrant officer, the HC observed that Jatinder Singh and his employee Inder had taken the law in their hands had committed contempt of court and criminal offences.
The Bench issued notice to Jatinder Singh and Inder for March 8.
SOURCE-HT
