The Delhi High Court on Wednesday directed the central government to pay interest on the delayed compensation to a 1984 anti-Sikh riots victim, highlighting the prolonged suffering endured by the victim and his family due to both the rioters and an “insensitive and callous” administration.
The court ordered the Centre to pay interest at a yearly rate of 10% for the period between January 16, 2006, when the Rehabilitation Policy was announced, and April 8, 2016, when the ex-gratia compensation of ₹1 lakh was finally released. The payment must be made within six weeks.
The bench, led by Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and comprising Justice Tushar Rao Gedela, also imposed ₹25,000 as costs on the central government while hearing the victim’s appeal against a single judge’s order that had previously denied him interest on the delayed compensation.
The appellant had claimed that his house in Shahdara was ransacked and looted during the 1984 riots, following the assassination of then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. His father had lodged an FIR with the police. In 2015, after the screening committee examined the claims, ex-gratia compensation of ₹1 lakh was recommended and eventually paid in 2016.
The court noted that while the policy for ex-gratia compensation did not originally include interest on delayed payments, it could be awarded in suitable cases. The bench emphasized that the Rehabilitation Policy, meant to assist the 1984 riot victims, should not be rendered meaningless due to administrative delays.
“In this case, the appellant and his family suffered terribly at the hands of the rioters exactly forty years ago and again suffered at the hands of an insensitive and callous administration,” the court observed. “Since the Rehabilitation Policy was to be implemented in a time-bound manner, failure to do so cannot be treated lightly.”
The court ruled that the delay in payment was attributable to the authorities from January 16, 2006, when the enhanced compensation was announced, and ordered the Centre to calculate and pay the interest within six weeks.
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The court further noted the widespread devastation caused by the 1984 riots, which resulted in the loss of lives, homes, and property, underscoring the importance of timely and adequate compensation for the victims.
