Received Letter with 'Very Disturbing' Facts from DLSA, Says Court While Hearing Delhi Riots Case

A court received a letter with disturbing facts from the Delhi Legal Services Authority's secretary regarding the victim impact report (VIR) preparation for a 2020 northeast Delhi riot case. Following this, the judge forwarded a copy of the letter to the deputy commissioner of police (DCP) to take immediate necessary action on it

New Delhi:During proceedings related to the victim impact report (VIR) being prepared by the Delhi Legal Services Authority in connection to a case linked to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, a court here observed that it received a letter with "very disturbing" facts from the authority's secretary.

The judge forwarded a copy of the letter to the deputy commissioner of police (DCP) to take immediate necessary action on it. The court in a previous hearing on the matter had termed the delay in preparation of the VIR as "unfortunate".

When the matter came for hearing around 10.30 am on Saturday, the court said there was no response from the DCP and the DLSA. Issuing a reminder letter to both the DCP and the DLSA to ensure that a VIR was filed in the case, the court posted the matter for further proceedings on April 20.

At 11 am, the court said it received a sealed envelope containing a letter by the DLSA secretary. "I have gone through the letter of the secretary. The facts mentioned therein are very disturbing and hence a copy of this letter is being forwarded to the DCP to take immediate necessary action, in view of facts mentioned therein under intimation to this court," Additional Sessions Judge Pulastya Pramachala said.

The Delhi High Court has laid down the procedures for preparing VIRs after conviction of the accused for assessing the quantum of loss suffered by the victims of crime, including their physical, emotional and financial hardships.

The VIR has to be filed by the DLSA before the trial court in every criminal trial after conviction. On Saturday, Additional Sessions Judge Pramachala was hearing arguments against one Jony Kumar, who was sentenced for rioting and arson, when he directed the DCP to take action based on the DLSA's letter.

Earlier on April 1, the court had noted that the secretary of the Delhi Legal Services Authority (DLSA) had requested the court to submit the VIR on a future date as the investigating officer (IO) did not bring one of the victims before it for interaction.

The judge said it was unfortunate that there was a delay in the preparation of VIR related to the case. "The Deputy Commissioner of Police (northeast) district is requested to sensitise all the station house officers (SHOs) and IOs to ensure the presentation of victims before DLSA at the earliest point of time so that VIR is prepared by DLSA at the earliest possible time," the court had said.