CJI Surya Kant to open India's first Victim Rights Centre in Patna

Chief Justice of India Surya Kant will inaugurate a first-of-its-kind Victim Rights Centre at the Bihar State Legal Services Authority (BLSA) in Patna on Saturday, September 26, 2026.

The event will also see the launch of a transgender helpline and the flagging off of a fleet of multi-utility vehicles. The Chief Justice of India will release the authority's publication on the specialised centre.

A single gateway for victims

Conceived as a pilot project of the BLSA, the centre addresses a gap in coordination rather than in law. At present, no single agency receives a victim, identifies every entitlement available in the case and carries each of them to a conclusion, leaving rights granted by law unclaimed.

The centre is designed as a gateway that keeps a record for every case, so that a victim does not have to repeat the account at every counter. It will work to internal timelines and remain accountable to the authority. A case will be closed only once relief has been obtained and the outcome verified, or when the victim asks for it to be closed.

The centre will operate from the authority's premises using its existing personnel and resources, working through the police, hospitals, child welfare committees, One Stop Centres, state departments and organisations already active in the field.

Guidance and oversight

The project was conceived under the guidance of Justice V. Kameswar Rao, Chief Justice of the Patna High Court and patron-in-chief of the BLSA, along with Justice Sudhir Singh, Judge, Patna High Court and Executive Chairman of the authority, on whose direction it was approved and put in place. Policy direction rests with a steering committee chaired by a judge of the Patna High Court, with Justice Ajeet Kumar as its first chairman.

Transgender helpline

The transgender helpline will be launched alongside the centre and will operate with the authority's 2023 scheme for the consolidation, rehabilitation and access to justice of transgender persons, which gives effect to the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019. The centre will assist with identity certificates and in accessing housing, employment, health and welfare benefits.

The authority's publication on the centre, explaining the scheme, the standard operating procedure binding on it and the prescribed forms on which each stage is recorded, has been written by advocate Shama Sinha, project coordinator of the centre.

The pilot will function in Patna for 12 months. Upon evaluation, it will be extended to other districts through the District Legal Services Authorities.