MADURAI: Hearing a petition filed by a sexagenarian seeking Rs 10 lakh compensation for his two minor grandchildren who became orphaned after their father murdered their mother and killed himself, the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court directed the Chairman of Madurai District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) to ensure disbursal of victim compensation to the family within two months.
Justice N Sathish Kumar passed the order on a petition filed by the Karuthaperiyan (69) of Madurai. According to Karuthaperiyan, his son Vellaiperiyan married Abinaya and the couple had two children -- a six-year-old girl and a four-year-old boy. However, Vellaiperiyan was arrested for allegedly beating Abinaya to death and was remanded to prison in October 2019 where he reportedly committed suicide and died, he added.
Karuthaperiyan said that though he and his wife Chellam are taking care of the children now, they do not have regular income and are suffering from age-related ailments. He requested the court to direct the authorities to grant some relief under the Victim Compensation Scheme.
Justice Kumar observed, "As the scheme itself is enacted to alleviate the sufferings of the victim or dependents, the scheme has to be implemented with spirit and vigour and there should not be a delay in that aspect." Since Karuthaperiyan's application has been pending before the DLSA since 2020 for taking a decision on the final compensation, the judge directed the Chairman of Madurai DLSA to decide the claim amount and disburse it within two months.