The Gujarat government’s proposed exgratia payment of Rs 50,000 for each of the religious structures damaged during the 2002 riots was on 25 November rejected by petitioner Islamic Relief Committee, Gujarat (IRCG). IRCG’s counsel Yusuf Muchhala submitted before the Supreme Court that the damage to shrines during the riots was a violation of the fundamental rights of the minority community.
Gujarat High Court too concluded in 2012 that it was a violation of the fundamental rights and was required to be compensated duly. The amount being offered by the state government was a “pittance” and mockery.
GULBERG SOCIETY CASE ACCUSED BAIL PLEA REJECTED
The Supreme Court on 26 November refused grant bail to one of the accused in the Gulberg Society massacre case of 2002 Gujarat riots in which former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri and 67 others were killed, saying it has asked the lower court to conclude trial in three months. Sandip alias Sonu Ramprakash Mehra, one of the undertrials who was out on interim bail after remaining in jail for almost 12 years, had moved the court seeking regular bail till the conclusion of the trial in the case.
Earlier, the court had asked the trial court in Ahmedabad to wind up within three months the proceedings in Gulberg Society massacre case and had expressed concern over the accused languishing in jail due to delay in trial. It had also asked the Special Investigating Team (SIT), which probed the nine riots cases including the Gulberg Society matter, to expeditiously proceed. The bench, however, had asked the sessions court not to pronounce the judgement without its prior permission.
OPPOSITION TO RAKE UP RIOTS IN PARLIAMENT NEXT WEEK
If black money and tweaking of MNREGA schemes provided ammo for the opposition to attack the government in the first week of winter session of Parliament, the second week could see these parties closing ranks on the issue of riots taking place in different parts, including the capital, since the Modi administration took charge.
Leading the charge will be Trinamool Congress, which had also taken a lead in raking up the black money issue in Parliament, in coordination with other opposition parties including Congress and the Left. TMC has taken initiative over the riots issue with eight parties having signed notice for a short duration discussion in Rajya Sabha under Rule 176.
UP REMAINS ONLY STATE IN INDIA WITHOUT ANY URDU MEDIUM SCHOOL
The Jauhar Foundation recently organised the International Urdu Day at Lucknow. Speaking at the seminar on the occasion, Dr. M. Iqtedar Husain Farooqi, a renowned scientist and social activist, expressed his surprise and dismay saying that in spite of the fact that Uttar Pradesh has the largest number of Urdu speaking persons in India, there is not even a single Urdu Medium High School in the state. It may be recalled that Urdu is the second official language in the state.
Dr. Farooqi pointed out that other states like Maharashtra, Andhra, Karnataka, Telangana, Bihar and West Bengal have very large numbers of Govt. run Primary and Secondary Urdu medium schools which have helped the minorities to increase literacy rate. In Delhi too, dozens of such school are run by the Municipal Corporation and the Sate.
MUZAFFARNAGAR RIOTS VICTIMS REFUSE TO RETURN TO VILLAGES
More than 180 families, which were displaced in last year’s riots, have refused to return to their villages in neighbouring Shamli district. A team of the forest department had gone to the riot victim camps and appealed to the families to return to their native places as they had illegally established temporary shelters on forest land but they refused to go, forest department official H V Girish was reported as saying. While 55 families are camping in Malakpur, 45 in Noorpur, 35 in Khurgan, 25 in Sunheta and 20 in Akberpur in Shamli district.
The forest department had earlier also issued notices to these families to vacate the government land. Over 60 people were killed and thousands of others displaced in the communal violence in Muzaffarnagar and surrounding districts in August-September last year.
EIGHT INJURED, PASTOR ARRESTED IN ATTACK ON PENTECOSTAL CHURCH
A group of radicals have attacked a Pentecostal church in Karnataka, leaving eight injured, adding to the numerous attacks that have taken place in India this year against Christian communities. The attack took place during a prayer service at the Calvary Apostolic Church where radicals interrupted the service and attacked worshippers, Asia News reports. Among the eight that were injured, two were reported with broken legs from the incident.
Rev. D’Souza, a pastor in the community, was brought to the local police station for questioning after police investigated the incident. The Global Council of Indian Christians’ (GCIC’s) president, Sajan George, reportedly said that the police “did not stop the aggressors” when they arrived at the scene of the incident.
FIR, PROPER DOCUMENTATION, MONITORING, INTERVENTION MUST FOR JUSTICE
A two-hour session on “Communal Riots & Role of Para Legal Activists” was held by APCR Delhi Chapter at the headquarters of Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR) in the capital on 24 November. Some 20 selected volunteers from the chapter were present during the session facilitated by Dr Shakeel Ahmad (National Secretary, APCR) who has a lot of practical experience of working in this field during the Gujarat riots of 2002.
Delivering his lecture, Dr Shakeel Ahmad said, “For the establishment of real peace, it is necessary that culprits of riots could be prosecuted and victims could be compensated as soon as possible. For this purpose registration of F.I.R, Proper documentation, Monitoring of the investigation as well as trial and finally intervention in the matter whenever necessary must be assured by a Para Legal Activist”. The lecture was followed by Mutual discussions and question-answer session on the topic as well.
BHOPAL GAS TRAGEDY VICTIMS MOVE U.S. FEDERAL COURT
Plaintiffs representing victims of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy have moved a U.S. federal court to reverse the verdict passed by a New York judge, who did not let them take forward a case against the Union Carbine Corporation for ongoing contamination from the chemical plant. In the Sahu II case, plaintiffs Earth Rights International said they had presented the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of New York with evidence that UCC employee Lucas John Couvaras managed the construction of the plant, and in doing so provided substantial new evidence that demonstrates the UCC’s involvement.
On July 31, District Judge John Keenan, who had ruled in favour of UCC in prior cases too, said: “The manufacturing processes and waste disposal systems to be implemented at the Bhopal Plant were all initially proposed by UCIL [Union Carbide India Limited]… [and thus] defendant UCC’s motion for summary judgment is granted [and] plaintiffs’ motions relating to the deposition of Couvaras are denied.”
SC RAPS STATES FOR NOT FILING RESPONSES IN FEMALE FOETICIDE CASES
Terming it as “unfortunate” and “golden silence”, the Supreme Court on 25 November came down heavily on various states for their failure to stop female foeticide leading to an alarming drop in the country’s sex ratio. Uttar Pradesh government came under severe attack with the bench observing that it should file an “apology” for filing an affidavit in which no plausible explanation has been given as to from where the figures have been arrived at.
A bench of justices Dipak Misra and U U Lalit then asked the two joint secretaries and one additional secretary of Union Health Ministry to convene a meeting of senior officials of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and National Capital Territory Delhi on December 3 to check “relevant registers” and records that had formed the basis of the sex-ratio data provided by them.