CJI Surya Kant to inaugurate first ‘Victim Rights Centre’ in Patna

Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant. | Photo Credit: PTI Chief Justice of India Surya Kant will inaugurate a first-of-its-kind ‘Victim Rights Centre’ at the Bihar State Legal Services Authority (BLSA) in Patna on Saturday (September 26, 2026).A transgender helpline will also be launched, while a fleet of multi-utility vehicles will be flagged off on the occasion. Besides, the Chief Justice of India will also release the legal services authority’s publication on the specialised centre.The centre is the first of its kind in the country and conceived as a pilot project of the Bihar State Legal Services Authority.Why it matters?At present, there is no single agency that receives the victim, identifies every entitlement available in that case for them and carries each of them to a conclusion. Rights given by law therefore go unclaimed. The gap is in coordination and not in the law.The centre provides a gateway by allowing the victim some space by keeping a record for every case, so that the victim does not have to repeat the account at every counter. Besides, there will be internal timelines for which the centre remains accountable to the authority. A case would be closed only when relief has been obtained and the outcome verified, or when the victim specifies that it should be closed.The centre would operate from the authority’s premises, with its existing personnel and resources, and through the police, hospitals, child welfare committees, One Stop Centres, State departments and organisations already working in the field.It has been conceived under the guidance of Justice V. Kameswar Rao, Chief Justice of the Patna High Court and patron-in-chief of BLSA along with Justice Sudhir Singh, Judge, Patna High Court and Executive Chairman of the authority, on whose direction the project was approved and put in place. Policy direction for the centre rests with a steering committee chaired by a judge of the Patna High Court. Justice Ajeet Kumar is its first chairman.Transgender helplineThe transgender helpline will be launched alongside the specialised centre. It will operate with the authority’s 2023 scheme for the consolidation, rehabilitation and access to justice of transgender persons, which gives effect to the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019. The centre will assist with identity certificates and in accessing housing, employment, health and welfare benefits.The authority’s publication on the centre explaining the scheme, the standard operating procedure binding on it and the prescribed forms on which each stage is recorded has been written by advocate Shama Sinha, who serves as its project coordinator of the centre.The pilot project will function in Patna for 12 months. Upon evaluation, it will be extended to other districts through the District Legal Services Authorities. Published - September 23, 2026 10:05 pm IST