By IANS,
New Delhi : Delhi High Court Thursday pulled up the city government for not replying to a petition demanding compensation filed by 10 families affected by the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
Justice Rekha Sharma pulled up the Delhi government for the delay in filing a reply and posted the matter to Aug 4, the next date of hearing.
However, the central government later Thursday filed its reply to the petition. The court will take up the reply on the next date.
Last year in December, the court had issued notices to both the central and Delhi governments seeking their replies on the petition by riot victims awaiting compensation.
Justice S. Ravinder Bhatt had issued the notices after the 10 families approached the high court claiming that the central government in its Jan 16, 2006, notification discriminated between old and new claimants and only the old claimants were entitled to the compensation.
Jitendra Kumar Dhingra, counsel for the families, argued before the court that the discrimination was totally unreasonable.
“This action is unjustified in the light of the principles of natural justice and is a violation of fundamental rights of the victims of the 1984 riots,” Dhingra told IANS.
“It’s been 23 years after the incident but we are still awaiting the compensation. We have lost our near and dear ones in the riots and since then are moving from one department to another with the hope of getting some compensation amount,” said Amrit Singh Lovely, one of the petitioners, who lost his father in the riots.
“We are upset at the negative attitude of the government, which has declared the compensation but not paid it to us,” Lovely added.
The case relates to an incident in November 1984 in the aftermath of the assassination of former prime minister Indira Gandhi when a mob had set fire to the Gurdwara Pulbangash, killing three people.