New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday (January 20) directed the Punjab government to not take any coercive steps to shut down ‘Punjab Kesari’ printing press over alleged violation of environmental norms. The top court said that no such action could be taken until a week after the Punjab and Haryana high court decided the issue. Earlier, the Punjab State Pollution Control Board had ordered cutting the power supply to the newspaper’s printing press for alleged violations of environmental norms, reported The Tribune.“Newspapers cannot be stopped… Don’t close the newspaper part. Hotels or other commercial establishments one can understand can be closed for a few days. But allow the newspaper (to function),” a Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant told Punjab advocate general Maninderjit Singh Bedi.“Without prejudice to the rights of both sides, and without expressing any opinion on the merits of the case, it is directed that the printing press of Punjab Kesari newspaper shall continue to function uninterruptedly. However, with respect to the other commercial establishments, be it the hotel etc., status quo shall be maintained,” said the bench, also comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul Pancholi.The interim order will continue even a week after the pronouncement of the judgment by the high court which is presently hearing the matter. This will allow the parties to seek appellate remedies, said the Bench – which also included Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipul Pancholi.The court gave the directions after senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi mentioned an urgent petition filed by the Punjab Kesari newspaper group which said that the state pollution control board’s decision to cut power to its printing press will affect some of its editions.“Our newspaper should not stop because of an article published against the state government… Our press electricity will be disconnected. All this happened in a matter of two days because we published articles which are not favourable to the dispensation in Punjab… The press working for the last 20 years has been directed to be immediately closed over some alleged water pollution issue,” Rohatgi submitted,” said Rohatgi, who requested an urgent hearing, reported The Tribune.Rohatgi added that several coercive actions were initiated against the newspaper management after the newspaper published certain articles critical of the state government.“The matter can certainly wait. The actions are exactly as per the book in terms of the pollution control law. They (Punjab Kesari) are making something else out of it. Whatever action was needed, it has already been taken; we are not going to take any further action,” said Punjab additional advocate general Shadan Farasat.