Thaindian News

New Delhi, Sep 21 (IANS) The Delhi High Court Wednesday ordered the central and Delhi governments to pay within three weeks ex-gratia amount of Rs.10 lakh to families of each of those killed and permanently incapacitated in the Sep 7 Delhi High Court blast.

A division bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Sanjiv Khanna said the amount “should be equally shared by the (two) governments”.

It also said that those who suffered grievous injuries should be given compensation of Rs.3 lakh each and those who sustained minor injuries Rs.20,000 each.

“The situation in this case is different as it has happened at the doorsteps of the temple of justice,” the bench observed.

The bench had Sep 14 issued notices to the two governments asking them to file their reply by Sep 21, while hearing a plea of advocate Gaurav Kumar Bansal, seeking the court’s direction to the government to ensure social security for the terror attack victims and their relatives.

The court Wednesday also asked the central government to consider providing education to the victims’ children and directed the Delhi government to provide jobs to eligible children of victims.

“It was a catastrophe that fell on persons on the way to reach court to get justice,” the bench said, recalling the horror of the blast triggered outside the court’s Gate No.5.

Additional Solicitor General A.S. Chandhioke, appearing for the central government, informed the bench that an ex-gratia amount of Rs.2 lakh each from Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund has already been released to the families of the deceased while Rs.1 lakh each has been given to those permanently incapacitated.

“The government is ready to pay any amount as compensation that the court may wish,” he said.

“The law officer made the submission when the court desired that at least Rs.10 lakh each be given as compensation in cases of people who lost their lives or who were permanently disabled in the terror attack,” Chandhioke said.

The Delhi government’s chief standing counsel Najmi Waziri informed the bench that the state government has released Rs.4 lakh each to the relatives of people who were killed in the blast and Rs.two lakh to the permanently disabled victims, besides Rs.one lakh to the seriously injured ones.

The state released the fund from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.

After hearing the submissions from counsel, the bench directed the Delhi government to provide the blast victims the “best possible treatment” under a ‘Free Treatment Quota’.

“If any artificial limb is required for any victim, the same will be provided by the government,” the court said.

Fifteen people were killed and several were disabled in the blast outside the Delhi High Court Sep 7.

While disposing off the petition, the court said this issue is not to be debated. “We should take care of it with great concern and responsibility.”