Allahabad HC Slams Yogi Govt Over Delay In Compensating Minor Rape Victim

Court Issues Stinging Criticism of ‘Disgraceful’ Delay.

It is a caustic and stinging attack by the Allahabad High Court on the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh. The court was angry by how it took excessive time to compensate a minor rape victim. According to the judges, the situation and the mood of the state officials was deplorable and disgusting.

This was a very reactionary response of the judiciary in the hearing of a petition concerning the non-payment. The court was appalled to hear that a compensation figure, which was passed on several years before, was yet to get to the victim. The judges added that this is a failure that is not sensitive at all. It brings out the root issue in the bureaucracy of the state, which is failing its most vulnerable.

The lawyer representing the state government who was in court tried to provide reasons as to why there was delay. The bench had little trouble in ruling out these excuses, which it called flimsy. The court did not find the explanations as to why a young victim and her family were being denied their legal right. This dismissal of excuses of the state indicated the inmost impatience of the court.

According to the justices, such type of inaction makes the whole idea of welfare schemes a sad joke. They pointed out the contradiction of having a government encouraging such schemes but not putting them in practice. This was expressly stated in the judgment of the court that the indifference exhibited by the officials in question was not acceptable. This case, according to the judges, was a clear illustration of a failure of the system to protect a person by which it was created.

Long Wait of Justice to the Victim.

The heart of the court case that is causing all the anger is that of a very poor family in Lakhimpur Kheri of a small girl. She is a victim of a violent rape. After the legal proceedings, she was presented in front of the District Legal Services Authority, or DLSA. This organization deals with offering legal assistance and the support of crime victims.

A compensation amount of her was officially sanctioned by the DLSA in the year 2019. This was done through the Uttar Pradesh Victim Compensation Scheme, 2014. This scheme is specifically aimed such that it assists victims of such violent crimes with financial assistance. The payment order was issued and the lawful obligation was met.

The 2019 order has, however, been issued many years ago. The High Court was notified that by 2025, no penny has reached out to the victim or her family. It is this protracted delay, in excess of five years, that caused the intense response in the court. The victim had to wait, to experience her trauma once again and struggle against the system to get what she deserves.

The bench noted that this delay is a kind of second trauma done on the victim. To begin with, she is a victim of the heinous offense. At this point the state is doubly victimizing her with its apathy. According to the court, the system is causing the girl and her family to run pillar to post in order to receive the money that was rightfully given to them several years ago.

The Intention of Victim Compensation Schemes.

The High Court took time to offer a reminder to the state government regarding the whole experience of such compensation schemes. The Uttar Pradesh Victim Compensation Scheme, as well as such schemes in other states of India was developed according to the instructions of the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA). It is not a reward, but it aims at offering temporary relief to victims.

This is a financial aid that is supposed to be a first step in rehabilitation of the victim. The cash is supposed to aid them in acclimatizing with the immediate consequences of the crime. Here they involve financing immediate health care, psychological therapy and even the minimum survival requirements. The court emphasized that the term immediate is the most significant section of the scheme.

The judges cited that a delay of over five years is a fatal blow to the intentions of immediate relief. By stalling the file, the bureaucracy has made a supportive action a meaningless promise. The victim had to be assisted in 2019, not many years later after a hard and painful struggle with the government.

This implementation failure depicts a systemic failure. The court observed that the officials are handling this legal right as a kind of charity or bounty which they can donate at their will. The court claimed that this attitude is a horrible misinterpretation of the law. It is a right of a victim and the government should make sure that he or she is paid promptly.

Sanctioning the Inaction of Officials.

The Allahabad High court did not merely criticize the failure of the government. The bench made tangible moves to ensure that the bureaucracy is answerable to this huge omission. The judges ensured that they were no longer going to accept flimsy excuses. They insisted on a personal appearance before them by the officers involved to give an explanation of their actions.

The court recalled most senior officials to make sure that the case is addressed seriously. The bench had requested the Principal Secretary of the Law Department of Uttar Pradesh to appear personally before the court. This is the highest ranking bureaucrat in the department where the legal structure including the compensation plan is looked into.

The court also summoned the District Magistrate (DM) of Lakhimpur Kheri together with the Principal Secretary. The top most executive officer in the district is the DM who is directly charged with the responsibility of implementing such schemes on the ground. The court would be interested in understanding the reason as to why such payment was not made over such a long time.

The following hearings have ordered these officials to be present at the hearing. They should be ready with an elaborate explanation to the delay. The court also threatened them to demonstrate why they should not take action against them in case of their failure. This summons is a strong message that bureaucratic irresponsibility towards a payment ordered by a court will backfire.