The Madhya Pradesh High Court has ordered the Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh Governments pay compensation to the families of the victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh pogroms by April 30.

The High Court directed the state governments to provide Rs two lakh as ex-gratia to the family of the deceased victims and 40 per cent of the amount as additional relief.

Regarding loss of property during the riots, the High Court directed the governments to provide the amount of loss as estimated by the district collector besides an additional 40 per cent of the loss.

The petition also stated that the banks must be directed to follow the Reserve Bank of India's rules for granting loans to victims. Satnam Singh, who filed the petition, added:

The matter regarding compensation to the victims had been pending before the state government since many years and no decision had been taken by the district administration in about 1,250 cases, he said.

[This entry is cross-posted on ENSAAF's blog.]