CJI to inaugurate India’s first Victim Rights Centre in Patna

Chief Justice of India Surya Kant will inaugurate India's first Victim Rights Centre at the Bihar State Legal Services Authority in Patna on September 26, 2026. A transgender helpline will also be launched and a fleet of multi-utility vehicles flagged off. The centre, conceived as a 12-month pilot project, aims to provide a single point of entry for crime victims, maintaining a unified case record so victims do not have to repeat their account at multiple counters.

The centre does not create a new statutory body but operates through existing personnel and coordination with police, hospitals, child welfare committees and state departments. Cases remain open until relief is obtained and verified or the victim requests closure. The project has been developed under Justice V. Kameswar Rao, Chief Justice of Patna High Court, and Justice Sudhir Singh. Policy oversight rests with a steering committee chaired by a High Court judge, Justice Ajeet Kumar is the first chairman. The centre also proposes maintaining records for 'situational victims' including dependent family members of undertrials and acquitted persons who return to altered circumstances.

Bihar had the second-highest prison population in India at 53,076 inmates as of December 2023, with over 46,000 undertrials. After evaluation, the centre may be extended to other districts through District Legal Services Authorities.