Custodial death: Punjab and Haryana HC summons Haryana home department officer for aid to family

CHANDIGARH: Criticising the "bureaucratic mindset" that has led to deprivation, agony and harassment of litigants, Punjab and Haryana high court has summoned a secretary-rank officer of Haryana home department to respond to an issue regarding compensation to the family of a person killed in police custody.
In this case, the wife of the deceased has been seeking compensation since 2018 but the state did nothing on the ground that she had not moved any application in this regard.
"It is indeed a sorry state of affairs that even when the respondents have approached the HC for seeking compensation, the authorities submit that they could not process the case for release of compensation since the petitioner has not approached them.
The writ petition has been pending in this court since 2018 and the state authorities were fully seized of the entire matter for the complete duration. Yet, they felt a need for more to move the case of compensation. This bureaucratic mindset has led to the continued deprivation, agony and harassment of petitioners.
The lack of sensitivity exposed by the respondents compels this court to summon some senior and responsible officer from the department of home affairs, so that the matter is received with the responsibility and sensitivity that it deserves," the HC ordered.
The high court directed that an officer not below the rank of secretary from the department of home affairs shall remain present on the next date of hearing to apprise the court regarding the action taken by the state and furnish a status report as to whether the petitioners were entitled to any compensation or not and why had the authorities failed to take steps to extend the benefit of the policy.
Justice Vinod S Bhardwaj passed these orders while hearing a plea filed by Savita seeking compensation on account of the death of her husband, Vikas alias Dodhiya, in police custody. She specifically contended that a representation had been submitted to the effect that her husband faced danger and was likely to be killed by gangsters, Sandeep Bedvasni and his brother, and that direction in this regard was also given by the chief judicial magistrate (CJM) on December 9, 2015, to the concerned superintendent of police (SP) to take necessary action.
Despite the specific order passed by the court, an appropriate arrangement for ensuring the safety of the petitioner's husband was not undertaken and that resulted in his killing on March 11, 2016 by certain accused persons in the court complex itself, while he was in custody.
She sought directions for compensation on account of the untimely murder of her husband while in police custody. Hearing her plea, the HC noticed that the state government's reply to her plea revolved around the manner in which the incident in question had taken place and the officials had failed to address the core issue pertaining to the elimination of the petitioner's husband in police custody and failure on the part of the state to ensure his proper protection despite an order having been passed in by the CJM on December 9, 2015.
The high court also noticed that despite the existence of the Haryana Victim Compensation Scheme, 2013, the state authorities made no attempt to ensure that any interim compensation be disbursed to the petitioner. The matter has now been adjourned for October 11.