TAKE BACK THE COMPENSATION GIVEN TO MUSLIM YOUTHS ' ORDERS AP HIGH COURT

The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Monday set side an order of the state government issued to pay compensation to certain persons of Muslim Community who were arrested in connection with bomb blast in Mecca Masjid of the city and later acquitted from the case. A division bench comprising Chief Justice Kalyan Jyoti Sengupta and Justice KC Bhanu was dealing with a Public Interest Litigation by S Venkatesh Goud of city challenging a memo of the state government to award compensation to Muslim youth. The bench directed that the government should recover the compensation from the persons who have already paid and no to make any further disbursement. Maintaining that the decision of the government was unauthorised and not justifiable, the bench said that government has to maintain restrain while taking such decisions. The bench ruled that the government has no authority or the jurisdiction to pay compensation for payment of such compensation. The bench made it clear that merely on the ground of their acquittal or discharge from the case, the compensation cannot be awarded. The bench pointed out that instead of helping the poor persons on the streets, it was not correct for the government to pat compensation without any basis of law. It may be recalled that after bomb blast in Mecca Masjid on May 18, 2007, the police suspect the hands of the Muslim youth of the city and took custody of several youth from the Old City. As the probe of the Central Bureau of Investigation exposed the involvement of Hindu militants in the blasts in Mecca Masjid and Ajmer Dargah, the local youth were discharged from the case. The state government has decided to pay compensation to them as there was no involvement of the local youth in the case and also recommendations made by the National Commission of Minorities to the state government to undo the injustices done to these youths. The government has decided that Rs 3 lakhs to each for 20 persons and Rs 20, 000 per each to 50 youths who were also taken in to custody by the Hyderabad police and tortured.