Read Time: 05 minutes

Synopsis

In a distressing turn of events, the Chhattisgarh High Court intervened after a father resorted to borrowing funds for his three-year-old daughter's funeral following her sexual assault. Highlighting systemic shortcomings, the court urged prompt compensation for victims of sexual assault, emphasizing the need for improved implementation of such measures.

The bench of Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Rajani Dubey noted, “The report further went to state that because of lack of allotment of fund, the payments could not be made to the victims/family members of the victim. As such, the learned Advocate General was directed to seek necessary instructions and the matter was directed to be listed today”. 

The court initiated a suo moto petition based on a news report published in Dainik Bhaskar, wherein it was stated, ‘a minor child aged about 3 years was subjected to sexual assault and thereafter was murdered by a juvenile in conflict with law… When the incident took, there was an outrage and protest by the people of the locality upon which the State had announced that the family of the victim would be entitled to a compensation to the tune of Rs. 10 Lacs… The aforesaid news clipping further stated that for cremation of the victim, the parents had to take loan and because of fear of the family of the juvenile, they had to leave Sirgitti and to go to their village’. 

Advocate General Prafull N. Bharat and Additional Advocate General, representing the State, affirmed that compensation had been approved by the District Legal Services Authority, Bilaspur, for the parents of the minor victim. However, due to procedural hurdles, the family couldn't receive the amount at that time. The Advocate General assured that the compensation would be provided within 2-3 days. On April 3, 2024, during a revisit of the case, it was reported that Rs. 2,50,000 had been given to the victim's mother on April 3, 2024, via a check.

During the session, the court was informed that several other eligible individuals under the "Yon Utpidan / Anya Apradhon Se Pidit Mahilaon / Uttarjiviyon Ke Liye Kshatipurti Yojna, 2018" had not received compensation. 

Therefore, the Registrar General of the Court was instructed to gather information from the Member Secretary of the Chhattisgarh State Legal Services Authority and submit it to the Court. In response, the Member Secretary provided data on April 5, 2024. The data revealed that as of February 2024, Rs. 26,41,00,200/- was pending for payment in 753 cases across 23 districts due to insufficient fund allocation. 

Case Title: Suo Moto v State of Chattisgarh (WPPIL No. 23 of 2024)