Page No.# 1/4 GAHC010050602026 2026:GAU-AS:6237 THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT (HIGH COURT OF ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH) Case No. : WP(C)/1538/2026 CHAMPA DAS W/O. LATE PRADIP DAS VILL- NO. KHUTABARI PT.- I P.O. BAGDOBA, P.S. DHUPDHARA, DIST- GOALPARA, ASSAM, PIN- 783123. VERSUS THE STATE OF ASSAM AND 5 ORS REPRESENTED BY THE COMMISSIONER AND SECRETARY TO THE GOVT. OF ASSAM, HOME AND POLITICAL DEPARTMENT, DISPUR, GHY-06 2:THE COMMISSIONER AND SECRETARY TO THE GOVT. OF ASSAM FINANCE DEPARTMENT ASSAM DISPUR GHY-6. 3:THE ASSAM STATE LEGAL SERVICES AUTHORITY REPRESENTED BY ITS MEMBER SECRETARY IN THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT OLD BUILDING P.S. LATASIL DIST- KAMRUP (M) ASSAM PIN- 781001 4:THE CHAIRMAN DISTRICT LEGAL SERVICES AUTHORITY GOALPARA DIST- GOALPARA ASSAM PIN- 783101. 5:THE DISTRICT LEGAL SERVICES AUTHORITY Page No.# 2/4 REPRESENTED BY ITS SECRETARY DISTRICT JUDICIAL COURT COMPLEX BHALUKDUBI DIST- GOALPARA PIN- 783101. 6:THE OFFICER IN CHARGE DHUPDHARA POLICE STATION P.O. AND DIST- DHUPDHARA DIST- GOALPARA ASSAM PIN- 78312 Advocate for the Petitioner : MR. W RAHMAN, Advocate for the Respondent : GA, ASSAM, SC, FINANCE,SC, ASLSA BEFORE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE MANISH CHOUDHURY ORDER Date : 06.05.2026 Heard Mr. W. Rahman, learned counsel for the petitioner; Ms. M. Barman, learned Junior Government Advocate for the respondent nos. 1, 4, 5 & 6; Mr. A. Chaliha, learned Standing Counsel, Finance Department and Ms. A. Choudhury, learned counsel on behalf of Ms. R. Choudhury, learned Standing Counsel Assam State Legal Services Authority for the respondent no. 3. 2. The petitioner has preferred this writ petition seeking a direction to the respondent authorities to pay a sum of Rs. 5,00,000/- to the petitioner in connection with the death of her husband, Late Pradip Das, who died due to grievous injuries sustained in an incident which resulted into registration of Dhupdhara Police Station Case no. 43/2023 under Section 302, Indian Penal Code [IPC] read with Section 120[B], IPC. The petitioner has claimed the said sum as compensation under the Assam Victim Compensation Scheme, 2012, as amended, framed in exercise of powers conferred by Section 357A, Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. The petitioner has claimed that she and her two minor sons have come in the definition of ‘victim’, defined by Section 2[F] of the Assam Victim Compensation Scheme, Page No.# 3/4 2012, as amended. 3. During the pendency of the writ petition, an affidavit has been filed on behalf of the respondent no. 3 wherein it is stated that vide an Order dated 23.09.2024, the respondent no. 5 has awarded a sum of Rs. 5,00,000/- as final compensation to the petitioner and her two minor sons. 4. In a Communication dated 27.04.2026, the respondent no. 5 has conveyed the matter of compensation to the respondent no. 3 with a further information that due to insufficiency of fund, the awarded compensation could not be disbursed to the petitioner and her two minor sons. It is further mentioned that the funds are allocated serially as per date of the final order and a number of beneficiaries, who have been awarded compensation under the Victim Compensation Scheme, 2012, as amended, and whose names are listed before the petitioner, have not yet received the compensation. Therefore, the awarded compensation to the petitioner and her two minor sons can be released as and when sufficient funds are made available. 5. Ms. Barman has placed another communication of the respondent no. 1, addressed to her, wherein a similar situation regarding non-release of sufficient funds to release the awarded compensation to the petitioner and her two minor sons has been highlighted. 6. As by the Order dated 23.09.2024, the respondent no. 5 has found the petitioner and her two minor sons eligible to receive the awarded compensation of Rs. 5,00,000/- under the Assam Victim Compensation Scheme, 2012, as amended, the same is required to be released. As insufficient funds has been shown to be the only ground for non-disbursement of the said amount, this Court is of the considered view that the respondents shall proceed in the right earnest to release the awarded compensation amount to the petitioner and her two minor sons as expeditiously as possible. Therefore, this writ petition is disposed of with a direction to the respondent authorities to complete the process of releasing the awarded compensation amount of Rs. 5,00,000/- to the petitioner and her two minor sons as expeditiously as possible, preferably within a period of 4 [four] months from today. This writ petition is disposed with the above direction, with liberty to the petitioner to approach again in the Page No.# 4/4 event the awarded compensation amount of Rs. 5,00,000/- is not released to the petitioner within a period of 4 [four] months from today. JUDGE Comparing Assistant