8 February 2012
Press Trust of India
AHMEDABAD, 8 FEB: The Narendra Modi government was today pulled up by Gujarat High Court for its “inaction and negligence” during the 2002 post-Godhra riots that led to large-scale destruction of religious structures.
A Division Bench of acting Chief Justice Mr Bhaskar Bhattacharya and Mr Justice JB Pardiwala made the observations while ordering compensation for more than 500 religious structures damaged in the state during the riots. The court was hearing a petition filed by Islamic Relief Committee of Gujarat (IRCG).
Inadequacy, inaction and negligence on the part of the state government to prevent riots resulted in large-scale destruction of religious structures across the state, the court observed. It also said that the government was responsible for repairing and compensating for the damages.
The court said that when the government had paid compensation for destruction of houses and commercial establishments, it should also pay compensation for religious structures damaged in the riots. The court also ordered principal judges of 26 districts of the state to receive applications for compensation for damaged religious structures in their respective districts and decide on them. These judges have been asked to send their decisions to the HC within six months.
IRCG's petition in 2003 had sought the court's directions to the government to pay compensation towards damage of religious places during riots on the ground that the National Human Rights Commission, too, had recommended that and that the state government had, in principle, accepted the suggestion. The state government had opposed the IRCG petition, saying it was a violation of Article 27 of the Constitution.
The government further said that there was no policy with regard to compensation for restoration/repair of religious places damaged or destroyed during the riots. The lawyer for IRCG, Mr MTM Hakim hailed the Gujarat HC's decision as a “landmark judgment”, wherein compensation has been ordered for destruction of religious structures. “This is also probably for the first time that a court has held the state government responsible for inaction and negligence during the 2002 riots,” Mr Hakim said.
Source:http://www.thestatesman.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=399478&catid=35
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