The Allahabad High Court asked the Government of Uttar Pradesh to specify if it has framed a scheme as envisaged under Subsection 11 of Section 15-A of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 in view with Rule 14 of The SC/ST Rules, 1995, and sought its details on Saturday, 25 September.
A bench of Justice Jaspreet Singh and Justice Rajan Roy made this observation in regards to the Hathras gang rape case and sought the government's reply by 22 October.
The concerned subsection enumerates that it is the duty of the concerned state to establish an appropriate scheme to make justice accessible to the victims and witnesses, by making sure their rights are implemented and protected.
The Rule 14 of SC/ST Rules, 1995 elaborates on the state governments' responsibilities to provide relief and rehabilitation measures to the victims of the atrocity.
The court also asserted that the provisions relating to relief under the SC/ST Act were non-contentious.
Appearing for the victim, Amicus Curiae Jaideep Narain Mathur and Advocate Seema Kushwaha submitted that the Sate's affidavit said that the victim's family had been denied a house, agricultural land, and employment to a family member as the family already had a house, land and the girl was dependent on her father.
Further, the counsel contended that the monthly pension of Rs 5,000 as directed under the provisions too, was not given to the victim's family.
In response, the court asked the victim's counsel to file a reply to the State's affidavit by 22 October, LiveLaw reported.
Background
Last month, in response to a plea made by the victim's brother, the Allahabad High Court refused to stay or transfer the trial to a special court outside Hathras.
The victim's brother had alleged that an unruly mob, which included lawyers, had barged into the trial court during the proceedings and intimidated the witnesses and the complainant's counsel, eventually forcing the trial judge to halt the proceedings.
However, in the order, the court had also made it clear that the directions contained in its previous order for providing security to witnesses and the family of the victim with regard to non-disruption of the trial by any person will continue.
On 20 March, the high court had even issued a slew of directions to secure the safety of the trial and the witnesses and lawyers in the Hathras gang rape and murder case.
What Was the Case?
A 19-year-old Dalit woman was allegedly gang-raped by four 'upper' caste men in Uttar Pradesh's Hathras.
She died two weeks later in a Delhi hospital. After her death, the victim was forcibly cremated by the police without the consent of her family, a claim later denied by the police.
On 14 September, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra expressed concern over the delay in justice to the Hathras rape victim who died exactly a year ago.
(With inputs from LiveLaw.)
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