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CJI Surya Kant Inaugurates Victim Rights Centre in Patna, Says Justice Must Reach Citizens
Chief Justice of India Justice Surya Kant on Saturday inaugurated the first in Bihar, marking a significant shift toward a . Speaking at the premises in Patna, the CJI declared that “justice must not wait for the citizen to find it; the justice system must find its way to the citizen.”
The VRC is described as the first for victims of crime, designed to consolidate compensation, , medical assistance, counselling, protection, and rehabilitation under one point of contact. Alongside the Centre, the CJI launched a dedicated helpline for the transgender community, flagged off nine multi-utility vehicles for outreach in rural areas, and released a booklet explaining the Centre’s functioning.
The event was attended by Chief Justice V. Kameswar Rao, Justice Sudhir Singh, and other judicial officers and members of the Bar.
A System That Often Forgets the Victim
In his address, CJI Surya Kant articulated a fundamental critique of the current criminal justice process. “For too long, the criminal justice process has been built around the accused and the offence. The victim walks in, gives a statement, and often disappears from the story until the day of testimony,” he said. He added that a victim frequently experiences the process itself as a second injury, arriving already wounded and then made to navigate a system that speaks a language not known to them.
The CJI’s remarks resonated with a long-standing concern among legal professionals that victims are marginalised in . The VRC seeks to reverse this by ensuring that victims do not have to learn the law to receive what the law already promises. “These entitlements are scattered across different statutes, departments and institutions. They may all exist in law, yet remain beyond the reach of the person who needs them most,” he noted.
One Centre, One File, One Point of Accountability
The Victim Rights Centre is anchored in the principle of . The CJI explained that the Centre would function through “,” tracking each case with timelines attached to every task. This is built around the person, not the bureaucracy.
The Centre has been established under , as a twelve-month in Patna district. It covers entitlements under the , the , and allied laws. Following evaluation, the model is proposed to be extended to other districts through the .
Ms. , the advocate who presented the concept, explained that the Centre is designed to support vulnerable groups, including children in need of care and protection, persons with disabilities, transgender persons, senior citizens, members of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, and women. The model works through existing institutions such as the police, hospitals, Child Welfare Committees, One Stop Centres, State departments, and NGOs, with a ensuring of relief measures.
Helpline for Transgender Community: A Step Toward Inclusion
The CJI also launched a dedicated helpline for the transgender community, recalling the ’s landmark judgment in . He noted that “for a person facing harassment or discrimination, the first difficulty may still be knowing where to seek help, or finding legal assistance without fear of public scrutiny.” The helpline is intended to provide a safe avenue for transgender persons to access , counselling, and protection without having to approach multiple offices or repeatedly recount distressing experiences.
“The strength of a helpline is not merely in answering a call, but in ensuring that the person on the other side is heard,” the CJI said, underscoring the need for sensitivity in service delivery.
Taking Justice to the Doorstep
The nine multi-utility vehicles flagged off as part of the programme will take legal awareness, documentation support, and first-point assistance to villages and settlements beyond the immediate reach of courts and legal institutions. “When people cannot easily reach the system, the system must be prepared to reach them,” the CJI said. He stressed that is not complete merely because an institution opens its doors; it is complete when people who need assistance can actually find their way to those doors.
This outreach initiative reflects a broader under , as noted by Chief Justice V. Kameswar Rao. He emphasised that while criminal justice discussions often focus on the State and the accused, the victim must not become invisible in the process.
Justice Sudhir Singh, Executive Chairman of BSLSA, added that the success of such initiatives depends not merely on institutional arrangements but also on the sensitivity with which people approaching the justice system are treated. “There is a difference between emotion and sensibility. Emotion is a response; sensibility is a discipline,” he said, quoting an observation that justice is meaningful only when it reaches the person who needs it the most.
Legal Implications and Broader Impact
The establishment of the Victim Rights Centre marks a in how the legal system addresses the needs of crime victims. It operationalises the recognition, affirmed in the ’s decision in , that victims have a right to . By creating a single-window mechanism, the Centre aims to eliminate the fragmentation that often leaves victims without timely support.
For legal professionals, the model presents a replicable framework for victim support that could be adopted by other State Legal Services Authorities. The use of a to ensure of relief measures introduces accountability into what has traditionally been a patchwork of services.
The CJI cautioned that the initiatives “must not be measured by the ceremony of their inauguration” but by their real-world impact. He laid down specific metrics: whether calls for help are answered effectively, whether promised entitlements actually reach beneficiaries, whether victims are spared the unnecessary repetition of painful accounts, and whether legal assistance reaches communities that have limited access to courtrooms.
A Metaphor for Restoration
Concluding with a poignant metaphor, the CJI said, “A victim who comes before the system is often like a young plant that has survived a storm. It does not need to be told merely that the soil is there. It needs to be sheltered, supported and given the time and care to take root again.”
The Victim Rights Centre, the transgender helpline, the mobile vehicles, and the awareness booklet together represent a concerted effort to rebuild that shelter. As the proceeds in Patna, the legal community will watch closely to see if this model can indeed transform the experience of victims from one of to one of restoration and justice.
