CUTTACK: A single judge bench of Justice SK Panigrahi has suggested that every police man in the State should be given proper understanding of the working of legal services authority at different levels. He said the legal services authority could provide training modules to the police stations to sensitise and make the police officers aware of the role and functions of the authority.
The suggestion came on Tuesday, November 16, 2021, while refusing to permit termination of pregnancy of a rape victim with over 26 months of pregnancy. However, Justice Panigrahi directed the State Legal Services Authority to ensure that the State government pays an amount of Rs10 lakh as compensation to the victim.
Initially, the victim and her father had approached the police station for the purpose of termination of pregnancy but were directed to approach the court as the chargesheet was filed by then. Justice Panigrahi said, “In this regard, this Court feels that the police officers could have acted more sensibly and, at the very least, guided them to approach district legal service authority or legal services units at Taluk-level or to any paralegal volunteers. This would have helped the victim to get timely legal advice and saved her from suffering the forced delivery, imposed on her due to medicolegal compulsions”.
He suggested that the police upon registering a case, should ask the victims to approach to the nearest legal service authority, if required. “The legal services authority are also required to coordinate with the police department in setting up legal aid booths or providing legal services helpline numbers at every police station”, he recommended.