Supreme Court tells Maharashtra government to trace victims of 1992-93 Mumbai riots to compensate them

The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Maharashtra government to trace all the victims of 1992-93 Mumbai riots which took place after the Babri mosque demolition, to pay them compensation, saying there was failure on the part of the State to protect the life of its citizens.

"The violence witnessed by Mumbai in December 1992 and January 1993 adversely affected the right of the residents of the affected areas to lead dignified and meaningful life. 900 persons died and more than 2000 persons were injured. The houses, places of business and properties of the citizens were destroyed. These are all violations of their rights guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India", the court noted.

A bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Abhay S Oka and Vikram Nath said affected persons have a right to seek compensation from the state government as one of the root causes of their suffering was its failure of to maintain law and order.

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The court directed the state government to make all efforts to trace the legal heirs of the 108 missing persons to pay them compensation of Rs 2 lakhs with interest at the rate of 9% per annum from January 1999.

The court also directed the state government to revive dormant cases to trace the absconding accused.

The court also told the state government to provide details of 97 cases on dormant files to the Registrar General of the Bombay High Court within one month. The High Court should issue necessary communication to the concerned courts in which the cases are pending to take necessary steps to trace the accused.

The court also set up a committee headed by Member Secretary of the Maharashtra State Legal Services Authority (MSLSA) to monitor the implementation of its directions.

The judgment came on a writ petition filed by Shakeel Ahmed in 2001 seeking implementation of the recommendations of the Justice Sri Krishna Committee formed by the Maharashtra government to probe into the riots.