Kochi: Kerala High Court has issued notices to the state on a public interest litigation against the government inaction on the conduct of Nirbhaya Kerala Surakshitha Keralam Project launched in 2014. A division bench comprising acting Chief Justice Thottathil B. Radhakrishnan and Justice Anu Shivaraman, which passed the order, asked the state to inform its stand on the case.
The petitioner V. Ratheesh of Chelannur, Kozhikode, submitted that crime against women were on the rise and that there were a large number of unreported cases also. To overcome and tackle the dreaded situation, the union government had announced Nirbhaya fund in 2013 with a contribution of Rs 1,000 crore for empowerment, safety and security of women and girl children.
He contended that the project was launched with much fanfare. The government appointed ADGP (State Crime Records Bureau) as the nodal officer of the project but women have not received any benefit from this project so far. The project was a failure and there is wilful negligence on the part of the government in implementing the project.
The government had recruited many women volunteers to ensure round-the-clock safety for women but all of them left the project after no intimation came from the government on starting the project, the petitioner argued.
