Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, July 17: As the Government has informed the court that various steps have been taken for welfare of destitute women across Jammu and Kashmir as mandated under Domestic Violence Act, the High Court has closed the PIL.
The Division Bench of Chief Justice Arun Palli and Justice Rajnesh Oswal has closed the PIL regarding proper implementation of Domestic Violence Act, 2005 in terms of infrastructure; manpower etc after the court has been informed that serious steps have been taken on the issue in light of court orders.
At the very outset the Government advocate for authorities, submitted before the court that Child Development Protection Officers (CDPOs) have been designated as Protection Officers vide SRO 427 of 2015 to ensure district-level coverage, for they are senior officers in the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) with adequate experience in women and child welfare and their existing roles are well- aligned with the objectives of the Act since they coordinate services for vulnerable population including women facing domestic violence.
As regards the workload management, court has been informed that in order to address the concerns about CDPOs additional responsibilities, the department has deployed Central Administrators and One Stop Centers (OSCs) and Shakti Sadans to support Protection Officers.
“Not only that, even the Legal and Counseling Staff assist the CDPOs to ensure effective service delivery”, read the Government report.
Though upon being pointedly asked by the court, the Government counsel fairly concedes that in the given circumstances, the workload as regards the CDPOs has indeed multiplied, the issue, he submitted, needs to be addressed at the earliest to ensure quality and expeditious service delivery.
“Similarly, the issues as regards shelter homes, service providers, counseling, welfare experts, medical facilities, awareness and publicity, a substantial ground, as indicated in detail in the status report, has been covered”, the court said.
Advocate Sharaf Wani, Amicus Curiae, submitted that in the wake of the averments set out in the status report submitted on behalf of the authorities, the petition has substantially served its purpose. But still it is a work-in-progress and lot needs to be done.
The Government contended before the court that every possible endeavour shall be made by the competent authority and the concerned departments to carry the essence of the Act as also the purpose of the present petition forward.
“In the wake of the statement made by the counsel for the parties, the proceedings in the petition at hand are accordingly closed”, the court concluded.
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