HC seeks info on facilities given to victim’s family

LUCKNOW: The Lucknow bench of Allahabad high court has directed all lawyers associated with the Hathras case to apprise the court of facilities being given to family of the deceased as per law and other such facilities that should be given to it.

The court has instructed to hear proceedings of the Hathras case on these lines during the next hearing of the case on September 24. A division bench of justices Rajan Roy and Jaspreet Singh said on September 16: “It is in this context that a lot of emphasis was laid that a house and employment as envisaged under the aforesaid provisions has not been provided, as is mandatory, nor has the pension been provided.”

“Let the learned Amicus Curiae as also other counsels appearing for the victim’s family and for the state etc. address the court on these aspects relating to the benefits to which the victim’s family is entitled under the Scheduled Castes and

Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 and rules made there under as also the benefits which have already been made available to them,” added the court.

During hearing of the case, lawyer of the victim’s family Seema Kushwaha apprised the court of facilities that had not been extended to the family till date. “The state government has provided Rs 25 lakh compensation to the family. But this amount has been clubbed with the compensation that has to provided under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989,” said Seema Kushwaha.

“The family is yet to receive a house, land for farming, monthly pension of Rs 5,000 and a job to one member of the family,” Kushwaha added.

“The court has directed to apprise it of the issue (facilities to the victim’s family) on next hearing of the case,” said Kushwaha.

To recall, on September 14, 2020, a 19-year-old Dalit girl was raped by four people in Hathras district when she had gone to the fields to collect cattle fodder. She was partially paralysed in the attack.

As her condition deteriorated, she was moved to Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital on September 28 and died in the early hours of September 29. The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court took suo- motu cognizance of the incident on Oct 1, 2020.

LAWYER OF THE VICTIM’S FAMILY APPRISED THE COURT OF FACILITIES THAT HAD NOT BEEN EXTENDED TO THE FAMILY TILL DATE