PRAYAGRAJ, Sept. 17 -- The Allahabad high court has said that Uttar Pradesh Goondas Act is being used as a tool of oppression by UP bureaucrats and the state despite the court's consistent rulings on the issue and warned the bureaucracy of punitive damages if it does not stop issuing illegal and arbitrary orders. A bench of Justice Sandeep Jain awarded Rs.50,000 as damages to the petitioner, Abhishek Tyagi, against whom proceedings under UP Control of Goondas Act, 1970 were initiated. The court in its order on September 10 said the state government was at liberty to recover the damages from the salaries of the bureaucrats concerned. The court quashed the orders passed by the additional commissioner of police, Ghaziabad, and the commissioner...