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CASE NO.: Writ Petition (civil) 232  of  1997

PETITIONER: S.S. AHLUWALIA

       Vs.

RESPONDENT: UNION OF INDIA & ORS.

DATE OF JUDGMENT:       16/03/2001

BENCH: S. Rajendra Babu & S.N. Phukan

JUDGMENT:

J  U  D  G  M  E  N  T RAJENDRA BABU,  J. :

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   In  the wake of assassination of Smt.  Indira Gandhi  on October  31,  1984 there were several killings of  Sikhs  in Delhi  and  other parts of the country between  October  31, 1984  till  November 1984 which involved arson, looting  and murder.   A Committee was constituted headed by Justice R.N. Misra  of this Court which made an inquiry and reported that Sikhs  killed  in  those riots were 3874 in Delhi ,  127  in Kanpur  and 69 in Bokaro.  Civil Writ Petition No.  1429  of 1996  titled Bhajan Kaur v.  Delhi Administration was  filed in  the  High Court of Delhi for paying compensation to  the dependents   of  those  killed  in   the  riots  after   the assassination of Smt.  Indira Gandhi as the State had a duty to  protect the life of its citizens and the State ought  to pay  compensation  thereof.  The High Court of Delhi by  its order  dated July 5, 1996 held that in the expanded  meaning attributed  to Article 21 of the Constitution it is the duty of  the  State  to  create a climate where  members  of  the society  belonging to different faiths, caste and creed live together  and,  therefore, the State has a duty  to  protect their  life,  liberty,  dignity and worth of  an  individual which  should  not be jeopardised or endangered.  If in  any circumstance  the State is not able to do so, then it cannot escape  the  liability to pay compensation to the family  of the  person killed during riots as his or her life has  been extinguished  in  clear  violation  of  Article  21  of  the Constitution.   The High Court, therefore, directed  payment of  a  sum  of Rs.  2 lakhs with interest and  also  made  a general  direction  that  this  direction  should  apply  to similar cases also.  Thereafter, this writ petition has been filed  seeking  to  extend the benefit of  the  judgment  in Bhajan  Kaur v.  Delhi Administration (supra) to the  entire country and for certain other reliefs.  It is brought to our notice  that  the  number of persons killed in each  of  the States is as under:

Nos. Killed

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         State   3874   Delhi        1   Rajasthan        3   Orissa     106   Haryana        2 Himachal Pradesh     120 Bihar      98 M.P.    260 Uttar Pradesh       9 Maharashtra  4473

   Certain amounts have been paid to some of the dependents of those killed.

   Certain  claims have been made in para 13.3 of this writ petition  setting  out  certain  facts   which  need  to  be verified.  After this petition was filed notices were issued to  the Governments of different States and they have  filed responses  in each one of those cases stating the steps that have  been taken by them in cases where there had been death or  other kinds of violence resulting in injuries or loss of property.   But  in the nature of the circumstances  of  the case,  it is very difficult for us to extend the decision of the   High  Court  of  Delhi  in  Bhajan  Kaur   v.    Delhi Administration  (supra)  to all the States without making  a detailed  examination  of the circumstances arising in  each case.  Such examination cannot be done by us.  Therefore, it would  be  appropriate for us to direct the High  Courts  of Delhi,  Rajasthan,  Orissa,  Punjab   &  Haryana,   Himachal Pradesh, Patna, Madhya Pradesh, Allahabad, and Bombay in the States  of  Delhi,  Rajasthan,   Orissa,  Haryana,  Himachal Pradesh,  Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh,  Maharashtra and  Goa  to  deal  with  the   matter  in  respect  of  the allegations  made herein in respect of the State falling  in its  jurisdiction  by  treating  this  writ  petition  as  a petition  filed  in  that High  Court.   These  proceedings, therefore,  shall  stand transferred to the respective  High Courts.   A copy of the petition with Annexures and response of the respective State Government shall be sent to the High Court for appropriate action.

   The writ petition stands disposed of accordingly.

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