Supreme Court declines to entertain PIL for rehabilitation of Nellie massacre survivors

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition seeking a comprehensive rehabilitation scheme and the setting up of a commission to re-assess and enhance the "paltry ex-gratia compensation" awarded to the victims of the 1983 Nellie massacre in Assam's Morigaon district [Rumi Begum & Ors. v. State of Assam & Anr.].

A Bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta allowed the petitioners to withdraw the plea and asked them to approach the High Court.

“Why can’t you approach the High Court?” Justice Sandeep Mehta asked the petitioners.

The Nellie massacre took place on February 18, 1983 in Assam’s Morigaon district, where over 2,000 people, mostly Bengali-speaking Muslims, were killed in just a few hours as a fallout of the controversial state elections held amid the Assam Agitation after Prime Minister Indira Gandhi granted voting rights to four million Bengali Muslims.

Advocate Warisha Farasat, appearing on behalf of the petitioners, argued that the compensation granted to the victims and survivors of the Nellie massacre was grossly inadequate.

She stressed that the matter was significant not only because of the tragic scale of the violence but also because such opportunities, where the legal system can deliver justice to a large and marginalized community, are rare.

Farasat contended that the petitioners were mostly small and impoverished farmers who had been left to struggle for decades without meaningful support.

Drawing the bench’s attention to the long passage of time since the 1983 incident, she maintained that the delay had only deepened the injustice faced by the affected families.

As per the plea, the petitioners lost family members as well as their homes and property in the Nellie massacre. They were granted only a token compensation of ₹ 5,000 for each deceased relative, while parents who sustained fatal bullet and other injuries were awarded merely₹ 1,500 each.

The plea sought directions to the State of Assam and the Central Government to:

• Frame and implement a comprehensive rehabilitation scheme for Nellie massacre victims and survivors, ensuring just and adequate reparation under Article 21.

• Set up a Commission to re-assess and enhance the meagre ex-gratia compensation, bringing it at par with that granted in other instances of communal violence.

• Provide adequate housing to those who lost shelter during the massacre.

• Ensure access to proper healthcare and educational facilities in the Nellie region, with concessions for survivors and victims’ families.

• Establish a competent body to oversee implementation of the rehabilitation scheme and disbursal of compensation.

However, the Court was not inclined to entertain the petition.

The petition was filed through advocate Srishti Agnihotri.