SC Dismisses Plea Against Order Seeking Job For Hathras Victim's Family Member

The order, which was challenged by the UP government, had also sought the relocation of family from Hathras.

(Photo: The Quint)

The Supreme Court on Monday, 27 March, dismissed a petition challenging the Allahabad High Court's order directing the state government to consider giving a job to a family member of the 19-year-old Dalit woman who died after being allegedly raped by four upper-caste men in Hathras on 14 September 2020.

The High Court order, which was challenged by the Uttar Pradesh government, had also sought the relocation of the victim's family from Hathras.

Surprised that the state government had objected to this, the top court said:

"State should not come up in these matters."

"In the facts and circumstances of the present case, we are not inclined to entertain the special leave petition under Article 136 of the Constitution", the bench dictated the order," the top court added, according to Livelaw.

The Uttar Pradesh government had filed the petition against the Allahabad High Court's ruling which came on 26 July 2022. The court had passed the verdict after taking into consideration the socio-economic backwardness of the family and the rights granted by the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989.

Meanwhile, a special court in Uttar Pradesh on had acquitted three people accused in the case and held one person guilty, on 2 March.

Out of the four accused – Sandeep (20), Ravi (35), Luv Kush (23), and Ramu (26) – the court only held Sandeep guilty, under Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Indian Penal Code and for offences under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

He has been sentenced to life imprisonment with a fine of Rs 50,000.