Irked At Delays, Allahabad HC Directs Expeditious Disposal Of Pending Compensation Applications Of Sexual Assault Survivors In UP
Expressing its serious displeasure at the delays in compensating sexual assault survivors in Uttar Pradesh, the Allahabad High Court has directed the District Legal Service Authority (DLSA) across the state to make all efforts to dispose of such pending applications expeditiously. A bench of Justice Vivek Kumar Birla and Justice Syed Qamar Hasan Rizvi issued this direction while...
Expressing its serious displeasure at the delays in compensating sexual assault survivors in Uttar Pradesh, the Allahabad High Court has directed the District Legal Service Authority (DLSA) across the state to make all efforts to dispose of such pending applications expeditiously.
A bench of Justice Vivek Kumar Birla and Justice Syed Qamar Hasan Rizvi issued this direction while noting that 1129 applications are pending before all the District Legal Service Authorities in the State and approx. 968 applications are delayed in disposal.
“This does not reflect a happy situation as out of 1129 applications, approximately 968 applications are delayed in disposal, which reflects that the District Legal Service Authorities are not functioning properly. Therefore, expeditious disposal of such applications is required,” the division bench observed in its order.
If needed, the Court also directed the sensitization of the DLSAs so that the applications may be disposed of expeditiously and the amount may be disbursed to them without further delay.
The Court was essentially dealing with a writ petition filed seeking direction for payment of rehabilitation and compensation totalling Rs 2 lakh to a victim in a case under the POSCO Act.
Hearing the matter on March 28, the high court asked the U.P. State Legal Services Authority to submit a report concerning the implementation status of the Compensation Scheme for Women Victims/Survivors of Sexual Assault/Other crimes-2018.
On May 2, the Court reviewed the report and was informed of the reasons for the delay in deciding on pending Victim Compensation applications at the District Level.
Pursuant to this, the Court directed the District Legal Service Authority to take the matter seriously and make all efforts to dispose of the pending applications expeditiously.
Further, the UP State Legal Services Authority was directed to submit a report after receiving a fresh report from all the District Legal Service Authorities by the next listing date (July 15).
Regarding the writ petitioner's claim, the court granted the ACSC additional time to obtain fresh instructions.
Case title - Mamta vs. State Of Up And 3 Others