Advocate General R N Singh told The Indian Express that the Government would file an appeal against the order in the Supreme Court.
In its affidavit, the Government said that they had resorted to arrests only after making repeated requests to activists to call off the agitation, and that they did not use any force even though the activists had uprooted trees.
A division bench comprising the Chief Justice and Justice Ajit Singh, however, did not agree with the Government and said its action violated the fundamental rights enjoyed by protesters under Articles 19 and 21 of the Constitution.
The bench not only ordered the Government to pay Rs 10,000 each to all the 91 activists but also additional damages of Rs 10,000 to Patkar as the cost of the petition.
According to NBA advocate N S Kale, the Government had also been asked to probe the matter and, if it finds suitable, to recover the costs from the officials responsible.
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