1987 Hashimpura massacre: High Court posts all pleas for urgent hearing

After perusing the records, the bench said the occurrence of the incident was not in dispute and even the trial court had said this in its verdict while acquitting the accused policemen.

The Delhi High Court Thursday agreed to give an urgent hearing to various petitions filed in the 1987 Hashimpura massacre by the victims, the Uttar Pradesh government and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).

Observing that “several important issues” had been raised through the petitions, a bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and R K Gauba said: “The issue requires serious consideration and it cannot be just brushed aside. We will hear the parties in detail.”

After perusing the records, the bench said the occurrence of the incident was not in dispute and even the trial court had said this in its verdict while acquitting the accused policemen.

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After a long-drawn legal battle, 16 Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) personnel, accused of killing 42 Muslims in Meerut, were acquitted by a Delhi court in March. Meanwhile, an application filed by 27 victims also questioned the compensation awarded by the trial court during its verdict.

“The trial court has erroneously chosen to award compensation only to some victims, since as per the rationale of the court, only the identity of these nine persons could be established,” the plea said.

The high court issued notice to all 16 policemen on a plea by the NHRC seeking probe into the incident and framing of guidelines for cases of custodial crimes. The court will now take up all the pleas on October 20. On May 29, the UP government had challenged the trial court verdict.