Utkarsh Anand / Hindustan Times
A constant atmosphere of communal tension is a violation of the constitutional right to life guaranteed to the citizens of the country, the Supreme Court emphasised on Friday as it reproached the Maharashtra government for failing to stop the 1992-93 Mumbai communal riots that left 900 people dead and more than 2,000 injured.
Issuing a slew of directives to the Maharashtra government for tracing the absconding accused and paying compensation to the riot victims, a bench of justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, AS Oka and Vikram Nath underscored that a constitutional court cannot shut its eyes towards the plight of victims just because the petition was pending in the top court for 21 years.
“Article 21 of the Constitution of India confers a right on every citizen to live with human dignity. Article 21 encompasses into itself the right to live a meaningful and dignified life… If citizens are forced to live in an atmosphere of communal tension, it affects their right to life guaranteed by Article 21…We cannot allow the victims to suffer only because there was a delay in the disposal of this writ petition,” held the bench.
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