India opens Bihar centre to coordinate support for crime victims

Chief Justice of India Surya Kant inaugurated Bihar’s first Victim Rights Centre on Saturday, presenting it as a single-window mechanism for people affected by crime. The centre was opened at the Bihar State Legal Services Authority campus in Patna. Kant also flagged off nine multi-utility vehicles, launched a helpline for transgender people and released a book on the centre.

Speaking at the event, Kant said access to justice should not depend on a person’s ability to understand legal procedures or independently navigate institutions. He said victims should be able to obtain support including compensation, legal and medical assistance, counselling, protection and rehabilitation through a more coordinated system. The Chief Justice said the initiatives were based on the principle that the justice system should reach citizens who are vulnerable, unheard or unable to access courts easily.

The vehicles, he said, would take legal awareness, documentation support and initial assistance to villages and settlements beyond the immediate reach of legal institutions. Kant said the programmes should be assessed by their effect on people’s lives rather than by the launch ceremony. He identified effective responses to calls for help, delivery of entitlements, reduced repetition of traumatic accounts and access to legal assistance as measures of success.

Patna High Court Chief Justice V. Kameshwar Rao described the centre as an important step towards a more accessible and responsive justice system. He said criminal justice discussions often concentrate on the state and the accused, while the person harmed by the offence must also remain central.

Justice Sudhir Singh, the executive chairman of the Bihar State Legal Services Authority, said the initiatives would depend not only on institutional arrangements but also on the sensitivity shown to people seeking assistance.