Murshidabad violence: ‘Rs 1.2 lakh not adequate for a house,’ Calcutta HC orders report on fund disbursal for victims

In May, the HC had ordered the state to 'remunerate and restore' all parties whose lives and properties were affected during protests over the Waqf law in April

Written by Tanusree Bose

Kolkata | September 25, 2025 07:46 PM IST

3 min read

calcutta high court, murshidabad violence, murshidabad riots,

The state informed the court that 283 families had been identified and Rs 1.2 lakh had been disbursed to each of the affected families. (File photo)

The Calcutta High Court has ordered the District Magistrate of Murshidabad to file a comprehensive report on the funds for victims of the Samsherganj violence, which took place in Murshidabad earlier this year, detailing for whom and how the money was allocated.

The division bench of Acting Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Raja Basu Chowdhury further ordered on Thursday that the petitioners, who are counsels of some of the victims, are to furnish names of victims yet to be compensated or rehabilitated within a fortnight. The DM was told to verify the said list. The next hearing is on November 20.

During the hearing, the State submitted a report on the steps taken for restoration and rehabilitation. The state informed the court that 283 families had been identified and Rs 1.2 lakh had been disbursed to each of the affected families.

The court said, “Is this amount adequate to build a house? There were different types of destruction. Some were completely gutted, some were semi-gutted. The report shows some steps taken by the State, but do you (State) have the valuation report? And this report must match with that of the valuer”. It observed that Rs 1.2 lakh was not sufficient for even a semi-permanent mud house.

In May, the Calcutta High Court had ordered the state to “remunerate and restore” all parties whose lives and properties were affected during the clashes in Murshidabad in April during protests over the Waqf law. Violence broke out between April 8 and 12 in the Jangipur subdivision of Murshidabad, leading to the deaths of three persons, including a father-son duo, and had damaged hundreds of households. The “valuer” had been appointed by the state to take stock of the situation after the high court order.

The petitioner’s counsel, Priyanka Tebriwal, submitted in court on Thursday, “They are saying there are no complaints, but have they informed (anyone) that they are taking complaints?” According to the state’s counsel Sirshanyan Bandhopadhai, “Rs 3,39,00,000 was disbursed on May 3, and as per reports, it has been utilised.”

In response, the division bench observed, “We are more concerned about the steps taken after the valuer gave the report. We should have the data of the disbursal that happened in May. We wanted to know if the disbursal is matching the valuer’s report, and if all victims got the benefits.”

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