Justice after 40 years: Srinagar Court orders compensation in 1985 Exhibition Blast

STATE TIMES NEWS

JAMMU: In a landmark judgment that closed a four-decade-long legal battle, the 2nd Additional District and Sessions Court, Srinagar, Swati Gupta has ordered compensation to the family of Avis Ahmed Shah, a 22-year-old mechanic who died in the 1985 Exhibition Ground bomb blast. The court held the State accountable for negligence in ensuring public safety at the government-organized event.
On October 13, 1985, Avis had gone to the annual Srinagar Exhibition Ground, a bustling cultural and commercial event that included the popular Radha Theatre. At around 8:45 PM, a bomb exploded near the theatre, leaving Avis and another visitor critically injured. Avis succumbed the next morning at SKIMS Hospital.
Though the case was registered under the Explosive Substances Act and later invoked TADA provisions, the court clarified that the State could not absolve itself of liability. Judge Swati Gupta observed that authorities had failed in their statutory duty to provide adequate preventive checks and security, despite organizing and regulating the event.
The compensation claim was filed in 1986 by Avis’s father, Mohammad Yousuf Shah. After his death in 1998, the litigation was pursued by his widow and children. Testimonies from friends, witnesses, and family members confirmed that Avis was the family’s sole breadwinner, earning Rs 700- Rs 800 a month as a mechanic and supporting his parents and siblings.
Rejecting the State’s technical objections, the court awarded the family Rs 3.84 lakh compensation, along with 8% annual interest from the date of filing the suit. The government has been directed to release the payment within two months, failing which an additional 4% annual interest will be levied.
Court concluded that the plaintiffs had successfully established three points: Avis’s death in the exhibition blast, negligence on part of the State, and the lasting financial and emotional loss suffered by his dependents.
The verdict is being seen as a rare recognition of state accountability in a terror-related case, bringing delayed but decisive justice to a grieving family after 40 years.