Lucknow: The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court on Monday expressed displeasure over the state govt’s approach towards rehabilitation and relocation of the family of Hathras incident victim and directed it to relocate the family in Ghaziabad or Noida within three months.The bench of Justice Rajan Roy and Justice Jaspreet Singh observed that the court had earlier directed the state govt to consider relocating the victim’s family to Ghaziabad or Noida, but the govt did not give due consideration to the request.Instead, in its decision, the state had offered the family the option of choosing Kasganj, Etah or Aligarh for rehabilitation. The court held that this did not amount to compliance with its earlier order.Quashing the govt order, the bench said that the Feb 22, 2025, decision did not even mention the family’s request for rehabilitation in Ghaziabad or Noida.“Therefore, it cannot be treated as a decision taken in compliance with the HC’s directions,” the court observed, adding that that there appeared to be unnecessary resistance on the part of the state and that its approach lent credence to the family’s contention that the govt was treating the proceedings as adversarial litigation.Appearing for the victim’s family, advocate Mahmood Pracha submitted that Kasganj, Etah and Aligarh were close to Hathras and family’s safety could be in danger if it is relocated to one of these districts.He said that the family did not have any relatives in these districts. In contrast, their relatives reside in Ghaziabad and Noida, where relocation would enable them to lead a normal life without fear.The court directed that once the rehabilitation is completed, employment should be provided to one family member, as mentioned in its July 26, 2022, order.The bench also directed the additional chief secretary (home) to file a compliance affidavit. In case of non-compliance, he would have to appear personally before the court on Nov 30, the bench said.
