State told to submit Nirbhaya Fund utilisation report in two weeks

The first bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy before whom the plea came sought for a report relating to the composite utilisation of funds and the portion that was left unused by a fortnight.

The direction was in response to a public interest litigation moved by Advocate AP Suryaprakasam that out of the 100 per cent funds received a mere 3 per cent was used and the rest of the money returned.

On citing information obtained through the Right to Information Act, the petitioner alleged that out of the Rs 190 crore received a mere Rs 6 crore has been spent during the past four years.

The petitioner also pointed out that during the past four years around 10,000 crimes were reported against the women. He also claimed that 336 rape cases were booked in the state in 2016, 294 in 2017 and 341 in 2018 while the corresponding figures for molestation cases was 854, 744 and 814.

Further, 151 rape cases were registered between January 1 and May 31 last year. In so far as crimes against children were concerned, 1,161 rape cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act were booked in 2016, the petitioner said while seeking to constitute a high-level committee for utilising the funds meaningfully.