HC pulls up Narendra Modi govt for inaction during 2002 riots

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat High Court on Wednesday pulled up Chief Minister Narendra Modi's government, severely criticising it for inaction during the 2002 riots in the state. Directing the state government to provide compensation for the reconstruction of over 500 religious structures destroyed during the riots, the bench of acting Chief Justice Bhaskar Bhattacharya and Justice JB Pardiwala also hit out at the state and the police machinery for their failure to maintain law and order, and their inability to stop the riots.

According to the High Court inadequacy, inaction and negligence on the part of the Gujarat government to prevent riots resulted in large-scale destruction of religious structures across the state. The government was responsible for repair and compensation for such places, the bench said.

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.

The High Court ordered that all principal judges of the 26 districts would be required to provide details of religious structures that were damaged during the communal riots in the state. All district judges were directed to accept applications from aggrieved parties and process the claims within six months to the High court for a decision.

The order was passed on a petition filed by Islamic Relief Committee of Gujarat in 2003, which stated that compensation was paid for those who died in communal riots or for business loss, but no compensation was given for religious places which were damaged or destroyed.

Gujarat Islamic Relief Committee Chairman Shakeel Ahmed said that they had filed the petition as the state government had failed to provide security to religious places or compensate those that were damaged or destroyed during the riots.

"We had asked for compensation for religious places. To protect them is the government's duty. The government failed to protect them, so it should compensate. Now that the High Court has ordered the same, that government should compensate," said Ahmed.

"If the court has decided that it was a law and order failure (and) that's why they have not succeeded in protecting the religious places. That's a very clear comment that the government failed to protect the human and civil rights of the people," he said.

The state government had taken a decision not to give compensation to any religious structure damaged or destroyed by the rioting mob.

Several district of Gujarat witnessed massive riots in February-March 2002 following the torching of the S6 bogie of Sabarmati Express train near Godhra station in which at least 59 karsewaks returning from Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh were burnt to death.

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