Thaindian News

New Delhi, Dec 7 (IANS) The Delhi High Court Wednesday issued a notice to the home ministry on a plea for enhancement of compensation awarded to the wife of a businessman shot dead by 10 policemen here in a staged shootout in 1997.

A bench of Acting Chief Justice A.K. Sikri and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw issued the notice to the home ministry, returnable by Feb 23 next year.

The bench was hearing the plea of Neema Goyal,widow of businessman Pradeep Goyal who was shot dead by a police team, for raising the compensation amount from Rs.15 lakh awarded to herin July this year.

While issuing the notice to the ministry, the high court allowed Neema Goyal to withdraw the compensation amount already released by the government.

“The appellant is at liberty to withdraw the amount of compensation deposited with the registry of the Delhi High Court without prejudice to her rights,” said Acting Chief Justice Sikri.

Justice S. Muralidhar earlier asked the ministry and Delhi Police to pay Rs.15 lakh compensation to the families of two businessmen killed in that staged shootout, saying there must be “zero tolerance” for criminal acts by men in uniform.

Goyal and Jagjit Singh were killed in Connaught Place, the posh commercial hub in central Delhi, on March 31, 1997, by 10 policemen led by then assistant commissioner of police S.S. Rathi.

Tarun Preet Singh, who was also in the same car with the two victims, was injured in the shootout by the policemen who were trailing alleged gangster Mohammad Yaseen. The police said they mistook Jagjit as Yaseen.

Justice Muralidhar considered the Supreme Court’s verdict upholding life imprisonment awarded to the 10 policemen in the case and took strong exception to rules allowing a policeman to remain in service, even after his conviction, as long as his appeal was pending.