The Delhi High Court has issued a directive to the Delhi government’s revenue department to resolve the ongoing issues of delayed salary payments to staff at the city’s one-stop centres (OSCs), which provide crucial support to women affected by violence. The order came after it was revealed that employees have not received their salaries for months, and in some cases, since last year.
During a hearing led by Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela, the court emphasized the need to fix responsibility for these delays and take legal action against the officials at fault. The justices have given the revenue department two weeks to file a status report detailing the actions taken to remedy the situation.
The Department of Women and Child Development and the Department of Revenue, represented virtually by their secretaries, acknowledged significant financial mismanagement. They reported that 87 percent of the funds provided by the Central government for the operation of OSCs remain unspent, resulting in unpaid salaries across several districts.
The central counsel clarified that the allocated funds could indeed cover staff salaries, correcting earlier claims by the revenue department’s officer who attributed the non-payment to a lack of funds from the Centre.
Reacting strongly to the administrative failures, the bench stated, “Either you suspend someone, or we will suspend you. There is no ‘maharaja’ here. People are going to OSCs without salaries. Work is not happening because of no salaries. You have killed their enthusiasm. Your department is insensitive.”
This legal scrutiny began with a petition from the NGO Bachpan Bachao Andolan, represented by advocate Prabhsahay Kaur, which highlighted the severe underutilization of OSCs and irregular salary payments.
The Supreme Court had previously mandated in December 2018 that every district in India should establish at least one OSC within a year to act as a central facility for registering crimes against women and children. These centres are also required to be equipped with trained staff and adequate medical facilities to provide immediate assistance and conduct medical examinations for victims.
