More than a year after an Amritsar court directed the Centre and the state government to award a compensation of Rs 4 lakh each to 40 Sikhs confined in a Jodhpur jail, the Union of India has countered the allegations of poor facilities in prison, claiming they were even served desi ghee against entitlement.
In a regular second appeal before the High Court through advocate Arun Gosain, the Union of India, among other things, asserted the court had wrongly held that the plaintiffs, confined for four to five years after Operation Bluestar three decades ago, were denied basic facilities during detention.
Elaborating, it said the plaintiffs were not entitled to meals with desi ghee. But on their demand, the SGPC and other Sikh organisations were permitted to provide them desi ghee, sugar and other eatables. This was in addition to other facilities provided under the jail manual.
The appeal was placed before Justice Ajay Tewari’s Bench on June 1. The High Court has not issued a notice on the appeal but only on an application for condoning the 286-day delay in filing the appeal. The notice came after Additional Solicitor-General of India Satya Pal Jain, along with advocates Dheeraj Jain, Gosain, and other advocates appeared before the Bench.
The appeal claimed the facts mentioned in the District Court judgment, were totally wrong. “There was a war-like situation and 1,592 persons were rounded up from the Golden Temple complex and the plaintiffs are among 433 persons collected from inside the Golden Temple complex during Operation Bluestar,” it said.
Alleging false implication, one of the plaintiff-victims had alleged he was physically hurt, kept thirsty, hungry and tortured mentally. The suit for damages for illegal detention, malicious prosecution and torture was initially dismissed on July 30, 2011. But the appellate court reversed the judgment and awarded compensation.
Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh, taking note of the Centre’s plea against compensation to 40 Sikhs arrested during Operation Bluestar, said they must be given their due. “These Sikhs spent precious years of their life behind bars for the sake of the community. They should be compensated and the Centre must review its decision,” he said.
