NHRC asks Delhi govt to pay Rs 1 lakh to accident victim's kin

Rejecting Delhi government's contention, NHRC has asked it to pay Rs 1 lakh as relief to the family of a road accident victim due to failure of a head constable in taking action against the accused.
The case pertains to an accident on September 24, 2013, when one Bhagwati Devi was hit by a bike in east Delhi and succumbed to injuries in a hospital.
Locals had caught the biker and handed him over to the police under Geeta Colony police station, but allegedly the head constable had not handled the case properly, leading to failure in taking action against the accused.

The Commission, which took cognisance of the matter on September 27, 2013, on the basis of a complaint, set aside the contention of Delhi government that pending court proceedings and departmental enquiry, it will be premature to pay monetary relief to the kin of the deceased.
It has asked the Delhi government, through its Chief Secretary, to make the payment and send a compliance report along with proof of payment within six weeks.
It also rejected the state government's contention that the next of kin of the deceased may avail compensation under the Delhi Victim Compensation Scheme, 2011, in the range of Rs 3-5 lakh.

NHRC had found that carelessness of the head constable handling the accident case of Bhagwati Devi was prima facie established in the vigilance enquiry. He was suspended and investigation of the criminal case was also at the fag-end.
"The act of public servant constitutes denial of right to access to justice which is also violation of human rights. The investigating agency has failed to conduct the investigation in a fair and impartial manner. It has abrogated its basic sovereign duty to investigate the crime, which amounts to dereliction.
"Dereliction of duty to fairly investigate a crime is brutal denial of the fundamental right to access to justice and equality before law to the family members of Bhagwati Devi and despite public having caught the person responsible for the accident, the police did not move professionally bringing the guilty to book," observed Justice D Murugesan, NHRC member, while making the recommendation.