kochi the kerala high court on thursday ordered the popular front of india pfi to deposit rs52 crore within two weeks towards damages caused to ksrtc during the flash hartal on september 23in an interim order a division bench comprising justices ak jayasankaran nambiar and mohammed nias cp also ordered the state government to make pfi state secretary abdul sathar an accused in all the cases registered in the state in connection with the hartal the court also directed the lower courts considering bail applications in cases related to the pfi hartal to insist the accused persons to deposit the amount equivalent to the damages or destruction caused to obtain bailthe amounts realized through these methods from pfi will be provisional and the pfi and its state secretary will also be liable to pay for damages found to be payable in the adjudication proceedings before the claims commissioner the court said former judicial officer pd sarangadharan was identified as the claims commissioner by the high courtthrough the order the court also said the state government failed to take adequate action to prevent demonstrations and road blockages during the hartal and acted only after the court issued an order on the day of the illegal hartalthe courts order said it is of some concern that notwithstanding our declaration that the very calling of a flash hartal was an illegal and unconstitutional act the state administration did virtually nothing to prevent the hartal organizers from going ahead with their demonstrations and incidental road blockages the media reports also reveal that the police force played only a passive role in dealing with the situation till we pronounced our order dated september 23 and began taking effective steps only thereafter an effective compliance with our earlier order dated 712019 by which flash hartals were declared illegal would have necessitated the state administration to ensure that no public procession gathering or demonstration took place in the state if the same was in connection with a call for flash hartalfurther the court said its order of january 7 2019 does not ban peaceful general strikes or demonstrations that are conducted after giving public notice of seven days even then the rights of the protestors to conduct such a strike or demonstration should give way to the rights of the general public if the said rights come into conflict with each other the court addedcitizens of the state cannot be made to live in fear solely because they do not have the organized might of the persons or political parties at whose instance such violent acts are perpetrated the courts order stated the fundamental rights of an individual must be respected not only by the state as a governing body but also by fellow citizens the court saidarticle 51a obliges every citizen to promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood as well as to safeguard public property and abjure violence the court pointed out a citizen of the country either individually or collectively cannot ignore the