Woman lawyers join Gurgaon force

In a first in the country, all 35 police stations in Gurgaon will get female lawyers to ensure victims of sexual assault don't face any problem while lodging an FIR. The district, which at 854 has the lowest sex ratio in Haryana, is infamous for being unsafe for women.

"The total number of rape or assault cases registered in our police stations are not even half of the actual number of incidents that take place. Often, women don't file a complaint due to societal pressure. Those who do have to face a set of obnoxious yet obligatory questions. A woman lawyer will be able to comfort the victim and motivate her to explain details of the incident to build a strong case against the accused," said Narendra Kaur, chief judicial magistrate, secretary, District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) .

Following directions from the Haryana legal authority, DLSA has constituted a team of 35 district court women advocates — one for each of the 35 police stations in Gurgaon. These lawyers would be called by the concerned police officer whenever a woman has to file a report.

"Each female lawyer has been assigned a different police station. If a lawyer is unavailable, one from another station would fill in for her," said advocate Archana Chauhan, one of the lawyers involved in the initiative.

The lawyers will be entitled to travelling expenses along with a fee of `500 per case for attending investigations, remand and committal proceeding, paid by the DLSA. In Delhi, there are no designated lawyers for such cases, so the national commission for women usually steps in to provide legal assistance to victims. This is despite a Supreme Court judgment in 1995 by justice MN Venkatachaliah, which states that victims of sexual assault should be provided prompt legal assistance by the State.