Chandigarh: In a major setback to the Punjab government, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has imposed a hefty fine regarding the ongoing protest outside the liquor factory of Malbros International Private Limited in Ferozepur.

The High Court said that the Punjab government has failed to end the sit-in, and imposed a fine of Rs 15 crore on the government and ordered it to deposit it within a week. Earlier, the Punjab government had imposed a fine of Rs 5 crore.

Apart from this, the court, a show cause notice has been issued to Additional Home Secretary of Punjab, ADGP Law and Order, DC Ferozepur and SSP Ferozepur asking that why a proceedings against them not initiates for violating court orders,” the court said.

The petition was filed by Malbros International Pvt Ltd in the high court. The petition states that the protesters are sitting outside their unit and the unit has been shut down. The unit was accused of setting up in violation of environmental norms. While the Punjab Pollution Control Board has given approval after examining them.

After this, the protesters approached the NGT against this unit and sought a probe but the NGT monitoring committee’s inquiry found everything to be fine.

To assess the damage caused so far, the High Court formed a committee led by a retired judge to probe the matter. The high court has directed the committee to review the damage caused to the factory in two months and submit its report to the court.

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