The Patna High Court has directed the Principal Secretary (Home), Bihar to consider and dispose of the representation of the petitioner regarding amendments in the Resolution of the Home Department, Bihar government.
The Petitioners have prayed for the following relief(s):
“That the present Public Interest Litigation has been filed for making necessary amendments in the Resolution of the Home Department Bihar Government vide Resolution no. 8960 dated 30.09.2013 by which the maximum limit of compensation payable in the instances of terrorism/ communal/ caste/ election / collective violence resulting in destruction of houses/shops is only Rs. 2.5 lakh, in the light of the basic principles as suggested by Nariman Committee in Writ petition (Crl.) no. 77/2007 “Destruction of public and private properties vs State of A.P.and others” and “State of Gujarat vs I.R.C.G. and ors.” (civil appeal no. 3249/2016) reported in 2018(2013) SCC 687 which holds that were any injury to the property is to be compensated by damages, in settling the sum of money to be given for reparation by way of damages the court should as nearly as possible get at that sum of money which will put the party who has suffered, in the same position as he would have been in if he had not sustained the wrong for which he is now getting his compensation or reparation and for any other relief or reliefs the Hon’ble Court may deem fit and proper in the facts and circumstances of the case.”
Prabhat Kumar Verma, the counsel for the State, opposed the petition stating that the petition is misconceived; raises disputed questions of fact; is not in public interest; and that the issue can be best resolved at the local level by the appropriate authorities.
After the matter was heard for some time, and on finding the Division Bench of Chief Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice S. Kumar not to be agreeable with the submissions made by the counsel for the petitioners, the counsel, under instructions, stated that petitioners shall be content if a direction is issued to the authority concerned to consider and decide the representation which the petitioner shall be filing within a period of four weeks from today for redressal of the grievance(s).
As such, petition stands disposed of on the following terms:-
“(a) Petitioners shall approach the authority concerned i.e. Respondent No.2, namely The Principal Secretary (Home Department), Bihar within a period of four weeks from today by filing a representation for redressal of the grievance(s);
(b) The authority concerned shall consider and dispose it of expeditiously by a reasoned and speaking order dealing with each of the contentions which will be raised by the petitioners in the application preferably within a period of four months from the date of its filing along with a copy of this order;
(c) The order assigning reasons shall be communicated to the petitioners;
(d) Needless to add, while considering such representation, principles of natural justice shall be followed and due opportunity of hearing afforded to the parties;
(e) Also, opportunity to place on record all relevant materials/documents shall be granted to the parties;
(f) Equally, liberty is reserved to the petitioners to take recourse to such alternative remedies as are otherwise available in accordance with law;
(g) We are hopeful that as and when petitioners take recourse to such remedies, as are otherwise available in law, before the appropriate forum, the same shall be dealt with, in accordance with law and with reasonable dispatch;
(h) Liberty reserved to the petitioners to approach the appropriate forum/Court, should the need so arise subsequently on the same and subsequent cause of action;
(i) We have not expressed any opinion on merits. All issues are left open;The petition stands disposed of in the aforesaid terms.”