The division of High Court of Manipur consisting of Justice N Kotishwar and Justice Kh Nobin Singh has issued a notice of motion on a PIL filed against the non-implementation of One Stop Centre Scheme in Manipur.
The PIL was filed by Lourembam Rebika Chanu who is a woman lawyer from Human Rights Law Network, Manipur.
The One Centre Scheme is a hundred percent central government devised and funded scheme whereby all distressed women and children are assured of integrated support service.
It also provides for a sensitised and specialised assistance to women affected by violence and to facilitate immediate, emergency and non-emergency access to a range of service of services including medical, legal, psychological and counselling support under one roof to fight against any forms of violence against women like rape, attempted sexual assault, sexual harassment, domestic violence, trafficking, honour related crimes, acid attacks etc.
On September 15, 2015, the Ministry of Women and Children Development, government of India had sanctioned Rs 12, 89, 120/- to the state government of Manipur as grants in aid for setting up One Stop Centre in Thoubal district as identified by the state government during the financial year 2015-2016.
One Stop Centre is under the ‘Nirbhaya Fund’ which got established by the Ministry of Finance, government of India after the huge public uproar against the infamous Nirbhaya gang rape case in Delhi in 2012.
The petitioner-lawyer was left with no other alternative than to file the said PIL in order to facilitate the struggling women and the children of Manipur in accessing basic human rights upon unearthing that an indispensible scheme such as the One Stop Centre is buried underneath in ignorance due to apathy of state authorities.
The Human Rights Law Network with whose active help the said PIL is filed hoped the state authorities would this matter as non-adversarial to the state and extend its fullest cooperation towards expeditious and meaningful disposal of the case.
Source: Imphal Free Press
