Bombay High Court directs Maharashtra government to deposit ₹3.5 crore in court registry over non-payment of compensation ordered by the State Human Rights Commission | File Photo
Mumbai, Jan 27: The Bombay High Court on Tuesday directed the Maharashtra government to deposit ₹3.50 crore in the court registry for allegedly failing to pay compensation to victims of human rights violations, despite binding recommendations issued by the Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission (MSHRC).
PIL highlights decade-long non-compliance
The direction came while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by 25-year-old advocate Satyam Surana, who highlighted that since 2013, the MSHRC had ordered the state to pay ₹3.39 crore as compensation in 186 cases, but the amount was never disbursed.
Court raps state for seeking more time
A bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad came down heavily on the state after it informed the court that it still needed time to “collect data” of the cases, despite having been issued notice in the matter over three months ago.
Rapping the state for its inaction, the court directed the principal secretary to the state government to deposit the amount within ten days in the court registry.
Earlier warning ignored, says court
On December 12, 2025, the High Court had noted: “A grim picture has been portrayed in this Public Interest Litigation as to how the recommendations of the Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission for compensation to the victims are pending unattended.” The court had then sought a response from the “concerned departments of the Government of Maharashtra”.
As the court was informed on Tuesday that the state was still not ready with the information, it expressed severe displeasure. It directed the principal secretary to deposit the amount and ordered senior officers of the state to gather data from the relevant departments and submit it to the court before the next date of hearing.
Majority of MSHRC recommendations pending
As per Surana’s PIL, there has been large-scale non-compliance with MSHRC recommendations. According to a reply received by Surana, from 2013 to 2025, the Commission issued 180 recommendations awarding compensation and other reliefs. Of these, only 44—about 24 per cent—were acted upon by the state government, while 136 recommendations (nearly 76 per cent) remain pending without any action, justification or report.
The total compensation involved in the pending cases amounts to ₹3.39 crore, affecting victims across multiple departments.
PIL cites statutory and constitutional violations
The petition contends that the MSHRC, constituted under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, has statutory powers to investigate violations and make recommendations for compensation, disciplinary action and remedial measures.
Surana argued that several High Court judgments across the country have held that recommendations under Section 18(e) of the Act are binding on the state unless specifically challenged.
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The PIL further states that the state’s continued inaction amounts to a violation of fundamental and constitutional rights, subjecting already traumatised victims to further injustice through “wilful, systematic and inordinate delay.”
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