Gujarat High court pulls up Modi govt's ‘inaction’ during 2002 riots; Repair and rehailitate religious structures

[posted below are reports from Indian Express and The Hindu]

From: Indian Express

Fix places of worship destroyed in 2002 riots, Guj HC to Modi

Parimal Dabhi : Ahmedabad, Wed Feb 08 2012, 13:16 hrs

The Gujarat High Court came down heavily on the Narendra Modi government on Wednesday, criticising it sharply for failing to stop the riots that broke out in 2002.

In a severe indictment of the chief minister, the court said the government had failed and showed negligence in protecting citizens and religious structures.

A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Bhaskar Bhattacharya and Justice J B Pardiwala was hearing a public interest litigation moved by the Islamic Relief Committee Gujarat, which sought payment for vandalised religious structures in the state.

The state had opposed this petition, stating it was not its policy, nor was it under any obligation, to repair religious structures that had been damaged in the riots.

The judges slammed this contention, stating the state machinery had completely failed to anticipate communal disturbance at that time, and had subsequently floundered in containing the riots. “The state's inaction resulted in the damage,” the bench held, ordering the government to “repair and rehabilitate” more than 500 damaged places of worship.

The court said when the government had paid compensation for damaged houses and commercial establishments, it should also pay compensation for religious structures.

The high court also put in place a mechanism that will check and report the system of rehabilitation. It asked all claimants to approach all 26 principal district judges across the state in the next two months. The judges have to then clear claims in the next six months. The government has one month to reply to its order, the bench said.

The petitioner’s lawyer Yusuf Muchhala said their 2003 plea mainly relied on three reports of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), which stated it was the duty of the government to protect places of worship, and in this instance, the government had failed to do so.

According to the petitioner, there are 294 religious places which were damaged fully or partially during the riots. However, Muchhala said the government has admitted there are around 595 such damaged structures.

Another lawyer M T M Hakim hailed it as a "landmark judgement" in the country. "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," Hakim said.

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From: The Hindu
Ahmedabad, February 8, 2012

Gujarat HC raps Modi govt. for ‘inaction’ during post-Godhra riots
PTI

PTI Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. The Gujarat High Court rapped the Modi government for "negligence” during the 2002 post-Godhra riots. File photo

The Gujarat High Court on Wednesday pulled up the Narendra Modi government for “inaction and negligence” on its part during the 2002 post-Godhra riots that led to large-scale destruction of religious structures.

A division bench of acting chief Justice Bhaskar Bhattacharya and Justice J.B. Pardiwala made these observations, while ordering compensation for over 500 religious structures in the state.

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.

The government was responsible for repair and compensation for such places, it further 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 court also ordered that principal judges of 26 districts of the state will receive the applications for compensation of religious structures in their respective districts and decide on it. They have been asked to send their decisions to HC within six months.

IRCG’s petition in 2003 had sought 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 and 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 regards to compensation for restoration/repair of religious places damaged or destroyed during the riots.

Lawyer for IRCG, M.T.M. Hakim hailed it as a “landmark judgement” in the country, in which 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.