Upset over delay in hearing their petition due to backlog of cases coupled with strike by lawyers at the Calcutta High Court, three victims of human trafficking have decided to argue the case on their own.
On April 20, the survivors appeared before a Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice Jyotirmay Bhattacharya and Arijit Banerjee when the public interest litigation (PIL) petition came up for hearing.
Listed thrice
“The case has been listed a number of times but could not be heard. On Friday, when the matter came up for hearing there were no lawyers representing us. We have to stand up for our own cause and cannot always depend on lawyers,” said one of the petitioners.
The Division Bench asked the petitioners to get a no-objection certificate from the lawyer and discharge the lawyer from the case. The matter will come up for hearing on April 28 when all the three survivors of human trafficking, aged between 19 and 21, will be present in the court.
The PIL plea filed by the three women hailing from State’s North 24 Parganas, along with their psychologist, seeks a comprehensive policy for the rehabilitation and reintegration of victims of human trafficking. The PIL was filed before the court in May 2017. The strike called by lawyers on February 19 protesting against shortage of judges has added to the ordeal of litigants.
