J'khand HC orders govt to provide facilities to commission to identify 1984 anti-Sikh riot victims

Ranchi, Nov 21 (PTI) The Jharkhand High Court on Friday ordered the state government to provide all facilities, in terms of staffers and infrastructure, to the one-man commission constituted for identifying the victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in the state.

A division bench, comprising Chief Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan and Justice Rajesh Shankar, was hearing a public interest litigation filed by one Satnam Singh Gambhir, who informed the court that despite compensation packages announced by the government, no relief has reached the victims of the anti-Sikh riots of 1984.

The court had on May 4, 2016 appointed former high court judge, Justice D P Singh, as a one-man commission to identify the victims and bring on record the compensation paid by the government.

The commission has, since then, been working on identifying the genuine victims and has reported to the high court at regular intervals.

The court was informed earlier that the commission was unable to run its office in absence of a stenographer, computer typist, nodal officer, among others, needed to compile the data and run the office.

The government informed the court that, at the instance of the commission, 41 victims have been identified who had suffered in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

The victims and their families reside in the districts of Ranchi, Bokaro, Ramgarh and Palamu.

As many as 39 victims have already been compensated, while the rest are in the process of receiving compensation, the government counsel informed the bench.

The case will again be heard in March 2026. PTI CORR NAM ACD