The Calcutta High Court has established a three-member panel to oversee the rehabilitation of victims affected by the Murshidabad violence. The committee has been tasked with identifying displaced individuals, assessing property damage, and collecting data on FIRs filed.
Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Thursday ordered the establishment of a three-member committee to identify and rehabilitate individuals displaced by the violence during the protests over the Waqf (Amendment) Act in Murshidabad district.
A division bench, consisting of Justices Soumen Sen and Raja Basu Chowdhury, confirmed that its interim order from April 12, which mandated the deployment of Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) in Murshidabad, would remain in effect.
The court stated that the committee will include an official from both the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the West Bengal Human Rights Commission (WBHRC), as well as the member secretary of the State Legal Services Authority (SLSA).
The court said,
“We deem it appropriate to constitute a committee consisting of three officers who shall monitor and coordinate the situation,”
The committee is tasked with identifying displaced persons, assessing the damage to victims’ properties, and collecting data on the FIRs filed. It will also facilitate the filing of FIRs by victims and manage the welfare of the displaced individuals during this interim period.
The state administration is required to provide all necessary infrastructure to the committee to ensure compliance with the court’s directives. Both the committee and a special investigation team (SIT) set up by the state government are expected to submit their reports at the next hearing on May 15.
Recognizing that many individuals, including children and the elderly, have been displaced, the court emphasized the need for the state to develop a rehabilitation scheme. This includes rebuilding houses and shops damaged during the violence.
The bench also directed that individuals who have lost their livelihoods should receive adequate compensation.
Furthermore, the court stated that the families of those who lost their lives in the violence should be properly cared for and protected.
The court asserted,
“It shall be the duty of the administration to protect the FIR complainants,”
The bench highlighted that it is the local administration’s responsibility to ensure that once all displaced persons are reinstated, “they shall receive all cooperation from the state administration so that they can live peacefully and do not face any threat to their life, liberty, and property.”
The state was instructed to maintain police patrolling and establish police pickets in vulnerable areas of the districts.
The bench noted,
“We have not curtailed the power of the Central Government. It has the authority to deploy Central Armed Forces if the situation so warrants,”
The court also mentioned that it would not consider the request for an NIA investigation into the violence at this time, as insufficient evidence had been presented.
However, it acknowledged that the central government has the authority to initiate an NIA investigation if it believes that offenses under the NIA Act have occurred.
The court was reviewing several petitions, including one from Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, related to the violence. A lawyer representing the Centre requested an extension of the CAPF deployment, given the sensitivity of the situation.
Currently, around 17 companies of central forces are stationed in the affected areas of Suti and Samserganj-Dhulian.
In its submission to the court, the state government reported that the law and order situation in the district is under control and that some affected families have begun to return home.
However, several individuals have sought refuge in a school-turned-relief camp in the nearby Malda district due to the violence, according to one petitioner.
Senior advocate Kalyan Banerjee, representing the state, informed the court that more than 270 individuals had been arrested by midnight on Wednesday in connection with the violence. He confirmed that a sufficient number of state police, RAF, and CAPF personnel have been deployed in the affected regions, and a special investigation team (SIT) has been formed under the leadership of a deputy inspector general (DIG).
He also noted that over 1,050 social media accounts had been blocked for spreading rumors.
Banerjee opposed the request for the imposition of Article 355 in Murshidabad, asserting that maintaining law and order is the responsibility of the state. He assured the court that the state government would take steps to restore and rehabilitate anyone displaced by the violence.
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