SC Rejects Plea For Parity In Compensation To Riot Victims [Read Order]

The Supreme Court bench of the Chief Justice J.S.Khehar and Justice D.Y.Chandrachud,  today dismissed a Special Leave Petition challenging Patna High Court’s refusal to issue a direction to the Centre to frame a common policy with regard to compensation to riot victims.

“No ground for interference is made out in exercise of our jurisdiction under Article 136 of the Constitution”, the bench held in its order.

The petitioner, Danga Peeriht Rahat Committee, claimed parity in respect of grant of ex-gratia compensation to the victims of Bhagalpur riots at par with the victims of anti-Sikh riots in 1984.

The petitioner pointed out that the victims of Bhagalpur riots, which happened in 1989, were paid compensation of Rs.3.5 lakh for 844 deaths/missing cases and Rs.1.25 lakh for 22 injured persons, but the compensation of Rs.5 lakh has been paid to the heirs of those persons, who were killed in anti-Sikh riots in 1984.   Therefore, the petitioner claimed that there should be uniform policy for grant of ex-gratia amount of compensation to the riots’ victims.

The Central Government told the Patna High Court that Rs.3.5 lakh had been paid in each case of death during the Bhagalpur riots in addition to the amount already paid, that is, Rs.1,10,000 per death by the State Government.

The High Court, in its oral judgment, held: “The grant of ex-gratia compensation is a matter of policy of the State depending upon the gravity, nature and consequences of the riots.  There cannot be any direction to frame a common policy as no riots can be compared or can be treated at par more so when such policy has financial implications.”

The High Court’s oral judgment, was delivered by the bench of Acting Chief Justice, Hemant Gupta and Justice Sudhir Singh, on February 14 this year.