The Supreme Court on Friday said it would issue fresh guidelines for claiming damages from arsonists and vandals who destroy property during agitations, saying such offences had "become the order of the day".A seven-year-old apex court judgment had directed that such compensation be extracted from the political parties and leaders who called the agitation, but it remains on paper.On Thursday, the top court acknowledged that it needed to intervene further to make the recommendation a reality, conceding that governments would find it difficult politically to make political parties pay for acts of vandalism."Whether it can be politically tackled - how far will it be possible for any political party to do it? Where facts are such, we (the judiciary) will need to deal with it," the bench of Justices J.S. Khehar and C. Nagappan said.It asked attorney-general Mukul Rohatgi to assist the court in laying down a law or guidelines on the subject. Rohatgi readily agreed, saying: "I will start working on it."In April 2009, the bench of Justices Arijit Pasayat and A.K. Ganguly had asked the Supreme Court and the high courts to act on their own and recover damages for arson and vandalism from the leaders of the organisations involved.But the courts haven't followed suit. Nor have governments or private litigants cited the judgment to claim damages from political or social organisations, perhaps fearing an adverse political fallout or personal reprisals.The apex court decided to reopen the issue as it heard a plea from Hardik Patel, the spearhead of the Patels' agitation for OBC status in Gujarat, to quash the charges against him and grant him bail."Such arson has become (the) order of the day. This is a good opportunity to deal with it. There are judgments of this court... that there should be recovery for damages and destruction of public property. Unless we deal with it, you (the government) may not be able to do it," the bench told Rohatgi."There are messages (from material placed by Gujarat police) which we have come across (relating to Hardik's agitation). One need not go into it. It is a matter of setting the country in order."Hardik, who has two FIRs and chargesheets against him, is accused of inciting arson and asking his followers to kill police and has been in jail custody since October 19 last year.The court had earlier refused to quash the charges, indicating there was prima facie evidence of arson during the agitation, held under the banner of the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti.It asked Rohatgi to provide English-translated copies of the chargesheets, written in Gujarati, to Hardik's counsel Kapil Sibal and fixed the next hearing for February 3.Hardik has been charged with sedition, abetment of the offence and conspiring to commit certain offences against the State, and faces a possible life term if convicted. Gujarat High Court had quashed the main charge of waging war against the State, which provides for a death sentence.