On Friday(13th Sept), The Supreme Court of India has directed the Centre and Uttarakhand to respond to a plea by a girl whose mother, a hospital staffer, was allegedly raped and killed. The petition calls for nationwide guidelines to protect hospital employees, citing delays in police action.
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NEW DELHI: On Friday(13th Sept), The Supreme Court of India asked the Centre and the Uttarakhand government to provide a detailed response regarding a petition filed by a young girl whose mother, a hospital staffer, was allegedly raped and killed. The plea calls for the creation of comprehensive guidelines to safeguard hospital employees across the country, a necessity highlighted by the tragic incident.
The court’s attention was drawn to this case on Friday during a session led by a bench consisting of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, along with Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra. They were hearing the plea filed by the girl, who approached the court through her maternal grandfather. The plea accuses the Uttarakhand Police of delays and procedural lapses in lodging an FIR regarding the alleged rape and murder of her mother, who worked at a hospital in the state.
The petition aims to address a broader issue—protection for hospital staff, irrespective of their medical qualifications. The petitioner has urged the Centre to take immediate action by framing standardized guidelines to ensure the safety and protection of all hospital staffers. The petition also highlighted that this protection should extend to all employees working in hospitals, not just doctors and nurses but also support staff.
The plea included a request for a “centralized alert system” to be implemented across the country. This system would issue alerts in situations where a woman goes missing and is not located within a reasonable time frame. The petitioner argues that this could potentially save lives by accelerating the search and rescue operations.
In addition to the demand for national-level guidelines, the girl has called for an independent investigation into her mother’s death, alleging that the local police investigation was inadequate. Her mother, an OPD assistant at a hospital in Uttarakhand, went missing on the evening of July 30, 2023. Tragically, her partially decomposed body was discovered on August 8 near her apartment in Rudrapur, located in Udham Singh Nagar.
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According to the petition-
“It is important to note that the post-mortem report did not specify a cause of death due to the advanced decomposition. It stated that, given the state of decomposition, it is not possible to determine the presence or absence of any injuries that might have caused or contributed to the death.”
The victim’s family alleges that the police were slow to take action, with a missing person’s report being filed after significant delays. It wasn’t until a media outcry and public agitation that a formal FIR was lodged on August 14, well over two weeks after the woman had gone missing. This delay in action has prompted the girl’s family to lose faith in the local police investigation, raising concerns about their ability to handle such sensitive cases.
The petition further notes the lapses on the part of the Uttarakhand Police, arguing that despite the seriousness of the case, law enforcement officials failed to act swiftly. The delay in registering the FIR is seen as a critical lapse in procedure. The petition states that the police only filed the FIR after the incident gained media attention and protests erupted in the region. The lack of urgency in this case has raised questions about the accountability of the local authorities.
Given the advanced state of decomposition of the victim’s body, the post-mortem report was inconclusive, leaving many unanswered questions about how the death occurred.
“Due to the advanced stage of decomposition, it is not possible to determine the presence or absence of any skin or visceral injuries that may have caused or contributed to the death.”
-stated the post-mortem report, as cited in the petition. This has left the family and legal representatives unsatisfied with the outcome of the investigation so far.
In her plea, the girl has also requested compensation under the Uttarakhand Compensation Scheme for Women Victims/Survivors of Sexual Assault and Other Crimes, 2022. Despite the provisions of this scheme, neither she nor her grandfather has received any financial assistance, as the government has yet to take steps to offer support to the family of the deceased.
The petition also argues that, under the provisions of the compensation scheme, the minor is entitled to financial relief. The failure of the local authorities to extend this assistance further underscores the need for urgent reform, as the scheme was explicitly designed to support victims and their families in such situations.
The plea adds-
“It is clear that the investigation carried out by the local police is not reliable and an independent probe is needed.”
The family has raised significant concerns about the quality of the investigation and is urging the court to intervene and ensure that justice is served. They believe that only an independent probe can uncover the full truth about the alleged rape and murder of the girl’s mother.
