IMPORTANT CASES<br> <br> Commission awards compensation of Rs. 1.75 lakhs each to the NOK of 1051 victims of the Punjab Mass Cremation Case

The National Human Rights Commission has awarded compensation of Rs.1.75 lakhs each to the next of kin of 1051 victims of the Punjab Mass Cremation Case. The Commission found that the bodies of these persons were cremated by the State authorities in violation of rules on cremation of unidentified bodies. The act amounted to violation of the dignity of the dead and hurt emotions and sentiments of their kin, who would have preferred to perform their last rites, the Commission held. The Punjab Government has been directed to deposit 18,39,25,000/- rupees within three months for disbursement to the next of kin (NOK).
The Commission has also decided to appoint a Commissioner of the rank of a high court judge to hold an inquiry to identify 814 dead bodies in the case.
In the same case through an order in November 2004 and subsequent orders, the Commission had awarded Rs.2.5 lakhs each to NOK of 194 people who had been found to be in the custody or deemed custody of police, before their death and cremation. The compensation was awarded as the police had failed to safeguard those in its custody. The Commission held the State liable of violation of the human rights of these persons.
The Commission undertook the inquiry of the cremation of 2097 bodies in the crematoriums of Amritsar, Tarn Taran and Majitha from 1984 to 1994, on the Remit from Supreme Court, with a view to award compensation to the next of kin of the deceased in deserving cases.