Five years on, Delhi riots victims continue to await justice

Only 7.5 pc of property damage claims settled

Five years after the 2020 Delhi riots, survivors still await justice and compensation. Lost homes, livelihoods, and lives remain unaddressed, as bureaucratic delays and government inaction continue to prolong their suffering.

Survivors of the 2020 Delhi riots continue to face an uphill battle for justice and compensation, with little to no support from authorities. Bureaucratic red tape, prolonged delays, and government inaction have left many struggling with financial ruin, displacement, and trauma. Despite promises of relief, victims remain unheard, their pleas for accountability met with silence.

The 2020 Delhi riots were among the worst instances of communal violence in the Indian capital in recent history. What began as clashes between supporters and opponents of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) quickly escalated into large-scale violence, primarily in North East Delhi. Over the course of three days, armed mobs roamed the streets, setting homes, shops, and places of worship on fire. The riots left more than 50 people dead, hundreds injured, and thousands displaced.

The violence was marked by arson, looting, and targeted attacks on Muslim-majority neighbourhoods. Numerous videos and eyewitness accounts revealed brutal assaults, with many victims alleging police inaction or, in some cases, complicity. Reports indicated that distress calls went unanswered as rioters torched homes and businesses. Many survivors, not only lost their livelihoods but were also forced to flee their homes in fear.

The aftermath of the riots exposed deep failures in law enforcement and governance. While arrests were made, many victims complained of biased investigations and wrongful detentions. Justice remains elusive, as key perpetrators continue to evade accountability, and legal battles drag on for years. Meanwhile, the compensation promised to survivors remains largely undelivered, leaving them trapped in financial and emotional despair.

Five years later, the scars of the riots remain visible in the affected neighbourhoods. Families that once lived in close-knit communities now struggle to rebuild their lives, many having exhausted their savings in pursuit of compensation that never arrived. The lack of systemic reform and delayed justice have only deepened the wounds, raising critical questions about government accountability and the safety of marginalised communities in India.

Amina Begum, 45-year-old still remembers the night her world was set on fire. The narrow lanes of Shiv Vihar, once bustling with life, became scenes of devastation as mobs torched homes and businesses during the 2020 Delhi riots. Her tailoring shop, her only source of livelihood, was reduced to ashes in a matter of hours. Five years later, Begum is still fighting, not just to rebuild what she lost, but to claim the compensation the government promised and never delivered.

“I lost everything in those three days. My home, my shop, the life I had built brick by brick, it all went up in flames before my eyes. I remember the officials coming, taking notes, clicking pictures, and making promises. They told us help would come, that we would be compensated. But five years have passed, and we have received nothing. No money, no justice just silence. We have knocked on every door, filled out every form, and waited endlessly, but all we hear are excuses. How long are we supposed to live like this? How long before they acknowledge our pain? We are not just statistics; we are people, struggling to survive every single day,” Begum tells Media India Group.

Begum’s story is echoed by thousands of others who suffered similar fates. Many lost their businesses, savings, and sense of security overnight. Despite multiple applications for compensation, victims have been entangled in bureaucratic red tape, with no clear resolution in sight.

The 117-page report published by Karwan-e-Mohabbat, an NGO striving for social peace, on the anniversary of the violence, authored by lawyers Suroor Mander and Swati Draik, and researchers Akanksha Rao, Ayushi Arora, and Syed Rubeel Haider Zaid, highlights the collective failure of both the Union government and the Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi government. The report outlines lapses in every stage of the crisis, from rescue operations to relief and rehabilitation.

At the height of the violence, the Delhi Police ignored crisis calls for intervention, necessitating the midnight intervention of then-Justice S Muralidhar. The state government, meanwhile, was criticised for its inaction. Initially, it did not even establish relief camps, later converting pre-existing homeless shelters into makeshift camps, which the report condemns as a “cruel joke.”

The North East Delhi Riots Claims Commission was formed primarily to evaluate property losses so that their value could be recovered from rioters. However, courts and the NEDRCC approved several evaluations of loss without any actual disbursement. The commission appointed private evaluators, whose methodologies remain unknown to the victims. Karwan-e-Mohabbat filed an application under Right to Information Act, seeking details on the assessors’ qualifications, powers, and assessment guidelines but received no response.

According to the report, 146 compensation cases were analysed, of which 81 pc pertained to property damage and 18 pc to physical injuries. However, no compensation has been disbursed in any of these cases. The report also highlights that of the 117 claims of property damage submitted, only 25  received compensation, leaving nearly 86 pc of victims without aid. This has severely impacted their ability to return to normalcy.

Out of the INR 74 million claimed in these 117 cases of property damage, only about 7.5 pc was actually disbursed, ‘highlighting a significant disparity between the claims made and the relief sanctioned’. The lack of an appeals system further exacerbates the victims’ frustration, as those who were wrongly denied compensation have no formal mechanism to challenge the decision.

The report notes that the majority of victims belong to the Muslim community, reinforcing earlier findings that suggest targeted violence. According to the data, 114 cases of property damage, 25 cases of injury, and an overall total of 139 cases were reported among Muslims, whereas only three cases of property damage and two cases of injury were recorded for individuals from other communities.

This aligns with reports that the violence disproportionately affected Muslim households and businesses. Many survivors also face continuous harassment, displacement, and financial instability, further exacerbating their suffering.

According to the report, the total demand for compensation from the victims stood at INR 1.53 billion. However, the government only approved INR 210 million, which also included claims made by government agencies for damaged properties. As a result, the vast majority of victims remain uncompensated.

“This is arguably the worst performance of compensation payments after communal violence in the history of the Indian republic,” says the report. It further notes that the compensation levels were even lower than those extended to victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

The Delhi government had initially announced a compensation package, with amounts such as INR 1 million for death, INR 500,000 for permanent disability, and varying sums for property damage. However, Karwan-e-Mohabbat’s findings reveal that while the Delhi government’s total budget exceeds INR 7.5 billion, only INR 1.53 billion was requested for riot relief, out of which a mere INR 210 million was sanctioned. The funds set aside for contingency in 2021 were never utilised for the victims.

“They told us compensation would come, but I am still running from one office to another, begging for what was promised to us. If the government won’t help, who will,” says Begum.

The report states, Not only were the levels of compensation fixed for the Delhi 2020 violence far below the levels extended by orders of the superior courts to the survivors of the Delhi 1984 pogrom, but the Kejriwal government also handed over its duty to fix compensation to the North East Delhi Riots Claims Commission by moving the high court within weeks of the violence.