The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Wednesday issued notice to the Punjab government on a public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the donation of Rs 1 crore made by Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal to Lawrence School,Sanawar. Though the deputy CM was made a respondent in the PIL by the petitioner,former MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira,no notices were issued to him after Punjab Advocate General Ashok Aggarwal appeared,and countered the PIL. Aggarwal said the decision to pay the money to the school was made by the Cabinet,and not by an individual. Advocate H C Arora,counsel for the petitioner,demanded that the money should not be utilised. Aggarwal requested the Bench not to issue a direction,as it would be embarrassing for the government if such an interim order was issued. Aggarwal suggested that he would ensure that if the cheque had not been encashed,so far,it would not be encashed,hereafter. He further submitted that even if the cheque was encashed,the fund would not be utilised by Lawrence School,and would be kept separately at the disposal of the High Court,subject to the outcome of the PIL. To this,a division bench of the High Court asked the Advocate General to immediately inform the authorities concerned that the cheque should not be presented,and in any case,it should not be encashed. The petitioner contended that in the annual plan for 2012-13 published by Punjab,an amount of Rs 1 crore was kept for Punjab Nirman Programme,which was to be spent on different development activities,including Municipal Corporation roads,installation of tubewells,development of historical villages,Ambedkar Bhawans,stadiums and water supply schemes,and construction of Dharamshalas,streets,drains,toilets,cremation grounds and pavement of streets. The petitioner further alleged that the annual fee charged by the school from its students was Rs 3 lakh per annum and hence it was rich. The school neither sought financial assistance,nor could it be imagined that such an elite school would require aid from the Punjab government, Arora said.
