Calcutta High Court Orders DLSA & SALSA To Process Compensation Within 2 Weeks For Victims, Kin In 5 Recent Rape Cases

The Calcutta High Court on Monday directed the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) and the State Legal Services Authority (SALSA) to expeditiously decide a representation seeking compensation for the victims and their family members pertaining to the 5 recent rape cases that have been reported in various districts of West Bengal last month.

The direction was issued while adjudicating upon a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition seeking a CBI probe into 5 recent rape cases that are reported in various districts of West Bengal this month. Incidents of rape have been reported to have taken place at Netra and Namkhana villages in South 24 Parganas district, at Pingla in West Midnapore district, at a village near Santiniketan in Birbhum district and at Mainaguri of Jalpaiguri district in West Bengal in the last few weeks.

The counsel appearing for the petitioner apprised a Bench comprising Chief Justice Prakasha Shrivastava and Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj that a communication had been sent to the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) and the State Legal Services Authority (SALSA) seeking compensation for the victims and their kin under the Witness Protection Scheme, 2018. 

Accordingly, the Court directed the authorities to take action on the representation as expeditiously as possible preferably within a period of 2 weeks. The Court also took on record the status report indicating the progress of the investigation into the cases as also the case diary. 

Furthermore, the Court was informed by the counsel for the petitioner that the West Bengal Commission for Women and the West Bengal Commission for Protection of Child Rights have also been impleaded in the proceedings. Accordingly, the Court directed the petitioner to intimate the Chairperson of the West Bengal Commission for Women to tender representation on the next date of hearing. 

Advocate General S.N Mookherjee further apprised the Court that the West Bengal Commission for Protection of Child Rights had approached him to represent the Commission however he had declined such a request since he is appearing for the State government. 

The matter is slated to be heard next on May 20.

In a related development, a renewed prayer for a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was also made before the Court on Monday with regards to an incident of attempted rape that took place at Moynaguri in West Bengal last month in light of the fact that the minor victim had succumbed to her injuries. The minor victim girl who had set herself ablaze following a threat to withdraw a police complaint regarding the rape attempt on her succumbed to her injuries in a state-run hospital on April 25.

It may also be noted that the High Court vide order dated April 20 had allowed for the filing of a witness protection application before the competent authority as specified under the Witness Protection Scheme, 2018 to protect the family members of the victim in the Hanskhali gangrape and murder case wherein a CBI probe had been ordered into a week back.

Case Title: Pallabi Chatterjee and Ors v. State of West Bengal and other connected matters

Case Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (Cal) 154

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