After stalling for a year the state government has finally decided to implement a Bombay High Court order of June 2013, which directed that the members of the Vashi-based Manwani family be compensated for the violation of their fundamental rights by the state police. The court had stated that the family be paid Rs 6 lakh within four weeks, but the state’s orders to release the amount was issued almost a year later on Thursday. In 2010, 79-year-old Mohini Kamwani alleged that she was being harassed by her estranged grandsons, and the police failed to act. Mohini subsequently sat on a hunger strike on January 16, 2012, which she called off after three days. On January 25, two policemen came to her house and said a complaint had been filed by her grandson against them. Mohini and her son Dilip Manwani (58) were produced before a judicial magistrate and accused of threatening to commit suicide. The police did not allow Mohini any time to call up neighbours to take care of their handicapped daughter and she was remanded in three-day judicial custody before being released on January 27. They subsequently moved court and a division bench of Justice P V Hardas and Justice Mridula Bhatkar on June 12, 2013, directed the state to compensate them for gross violation of human rights. In spite the court order, the state stalled the decision. “The court’s contempt notice seemed to have worked with the state machinery moving a resolution to compensate us,” Dilip said. Additional Chief Secretary Amitabh Rajan said he was not aware of the case.
