High Court Asks Maharashtra Govt To Consider 26/11 Mumbai-Terror Attack Victim's Plea For EWS Housing

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday directed the Housing Minister of the Maharashtra Government to consider 26/11 Mumbai Terror Attack victim - Devika Rotawan's - plea for a residential premises in the economically weaker section (EWS).

A division bench of Justices GS Kulkarni and Firdosh Pooniwala called it a “real case” to exercise discretion. Especially when discretion is often exercised in lesser deserving cases, it remarked.

“In our opinion, these are the real cases where authorities need to exercise discretion appropriately which is otherwise routinely exercised in cases found to not at par with a case as the present case. We limit ourselves to direct the minister to take appropriate decision.”

The bench was irked by the mechanical manner in which the Secretary of the housing department said in his noting that such a request could not be considered even without filing an affidavit in the matter.

“We are quite astonished at the snail's pace at which the decision is taken that too in a matter which raises issues of basic human rights and right to shelter of a victim of terrorist attack. We adjourn the proceedings FOB after 2 weeks. The decision be placed on record.”

Facts

Rotawan was only nine years old at the time of the 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai. She was at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) railway station along with her father and brother, when two of the ten Pakistani terrorists opened fire.

She was shot in the leg during the incident and her brother and father also sustained injuries, she said. Because of their injuries the father and brother were unable to work and she can't contribute owing to her own injuries.

The young woman lastly said that after the attacks, several Central and state government officials had visited her house and assured them accommodation under the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) quota.

This is the second time Rotawan has approached the High Court seeking allotment of a residential premises.

Rotawan had earlier approached the High Court in 2020. Back then the court had disposed of her petition with directions to the State government to consider her application. As the State rejected Rotawan's plea, she re-approached the court in 2022.

During earlier hearings Additional government pleader Jyoti Chavan, for the State government, said that pursuant to the October 2020 order, compensation of Rs 13.26 lakh was already given to Rotawan on compassionate grounds. Moreover, there was no state level scheme for considering such a request.

Advocate R Bubna, appearing for the Union government, had submitted that Rotawan was given compensation of Rs 10 lakh after the attacks as per government policy.

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