Delhi High Court has directed the Delhi Government to immediately process an application moved for seeking compensation for sustaining serious injury during the Delhi riots on Wednesday.
The court order has come in a plea by Shaan Mohmmad, who sustained a gun-shot injury on his leg during the anti-Muslim riots unleashed by Hindu mobs in northeast Delhi in February this year.
Justice Prathiba M Singh has further directed the AAP Government to ensure as to whether the office of the Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) is open and the SDM is entertaining applications for compensation.
Injured Shaan Mohammad contended that despite the Medico-Legal Case (MLC) being submitted on three times, the application for compensation to be awarded to him has not been entertained.
Prathiba M Singh also noted that there is no doubt that the petitioner has suffered a serious injury, therefore, there should not be any delay in releasing the compensation.
Earlier the High Court had directed Delhi Government stating that compensation be paid to riot victims.
On 22 June in pleas by Neha Fareen and Mohsin, the riot victims, HC had ordered the office of the SDM, Karawal Nagar, to accept and process the compensation forms of the riot victims and pay their compensation urgently.
In the 22 June’s order, it had also ordered the SDM to accept compensation forms even when their complaints had not been converted into a stand-alone FIRs.
SDM misbehaved: Riot victims
Advocate Mishika Singh who represented the riot victims before the Delhi high court said that “Despite getting directions from the Delhi High Court twice stating that compensation be paid to victims of Delhi Riots, SDM Karawal Nagar, Puneet Kumar Patel, continues to harass the victims.”
Mishika also said that on Tuesday, SDM Patel used abusive language and tortured the victims for over 3-4 hours.
“Victims, who left his office, have called their lawyers crying on the phone telling the lawyers that the SDM misbehaved with them and abused them order to scare them,” she further added.
Following the allegations of SDM’s misbehavior toward riot victims, the Delhi Minorities Commission (DMC) issued a notice to the district magistrate of North-East Delhi on Tuesday, asking for an urgent enquiry into the matter.
