HC seeks govts' stands on non-payment of compensation to anti-Sikh riot victims

The Allahabad High Court Thursday sought the stands of the Union and state governments on two pleas alleging non-payment of compensation to the families of three 1984 anti-Sikh riots victims in Uttar Pradesh.

A bench of justices Bharati Sapru and Jayant Banerji sought the governments' stands within a month on the pleas of Pyara Singh of Pilibhit and Harpal Singh of Bareilly.

In his petition to the court, Pyara Singh said his wife and daughter were killed by a mob during the country-wide, anti-Sikh riots in the wake of assassination of the then Prime Minister India Gandhi on October 31, 1984 morning.

In the second petition, Harpal Singh said his father fell victim to the mob frenzy following Gandhi's killing.

The two petitioners said following the killings of their relatives, they had lodged FIRs and the government had given them an interim compensation of Rs 20,000 for each of the slain family members, but they never got the full and final amount of compensation under the government's rehabilitation policy for the riot victims.

Appearing for the petitioners, advocate Dinesh Rai told the court that in January 2006, the Central Government had brought a rehabilitation policy under which a sum of Rs 3.5 lakh was decided to be given to the dependents of each of the deceased persons and Rs 1.25 lakhs to those injured in the riots.

The compensation was subsequently enhanced to Rs 8.5 lakh in February 2015, he said, adding his clients have never got the final compensation despite lapse of 34 years since they suffered the tragedy.