September 20
Twenty-two years since communal riots in Thoothukudi rocked the State, the issue of compensation to the victims still hasn’t died down. A Division Bench of the Madras High Court on Wednesday stayed the operation of a single judge’s order to pay the victims for the actual loss incurred, which runs to several crores of rupees, without limiting the compensation to Rs. 2 lakh each to 186 individuals, as was intended by the State government.
Passing interim orders on a State appeal, a Division Bench of Justices Huluvadi G. Ramesh and K. Kalyanasundaram stayed the order passed by Justice A. Arumughaswamy (since retired) on April 9, 2013, directing the government to pay the actual quantum of compensation determined by a Commission of Inquiry that had assessed the damages in 1996.
The Division Bench prima facie agreed with the submissions of Advocate General Vijay Narayan that the government need not accept the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry in toto, and that it was entitled to limit the quantum of compensation. The AG also argued that claims for more compensation could be obtained only by filing a civil suit.
It was brought to the notice of the court that a communal clash between the Baradhavar (Fernando) and the Nadar communities erupted in Thoothukudi town on May 9, 1996. On May 11, 1996, the police opened fire, resulting in a few deaths. The petitioners stated that the Commission had recommended compensation in the range of Rs. 70 lakh to Rs. 1.84 crore, depending on the loss they had suffered, and hence, they should be compensated with the exact amount of loss.