Barmer, Aug. 22 -- The additional district and sessions court in Barmer has ordered the seizure of the chief medical and health officer's (CMHO) official vehicle on Thursday after the health department failed to pay court-awarded compensation in a 22-year-old failed sterilisation case. The enforcement comes nearly nine years after the compensation decree. The court's staff, acting under judicial orders, seized the CMHO's vehicle from the Barmer health office. The action followed repeated defaults by the health department in paying compensation with interest to the aggrieved woman, despite a decree passed nearly a decade ago in 2016. According to the petitioner's lawyer, in February 16, 2003, the woman, already mother of four children and facing financial constraints, underwent a sterilization procedure at the government health centre in Bhadka under the Barmer district medical establishment. However, the sterilization failed, and she conceived again. Despite her unwillingness, she was compelled to give birth to another child. Citing the government's responsibility for the failure, the woman filed a petition before the court on December 17, 2009, seeking damages. After protracted hearings, the court delivered its judgment on March 15, 2016. It awarded the petitioner compensation of Rs.2 lakh along with litigation costs. Additionally, the court ruled that she was entitled to interest at the rate of 9% per annum for the period preceding the filing of the case, and 6% per annum thereafter until realization of the decree. Despite the decree, the compensation was not deposited for years. Petitioner's counsel, advocate Amrit Jain said that despite repeated notices served to the health department, no payment was made. "The operation was carried out in a government hospital under the supervision of doctors accountable to the CMHO. The decree of 2016 clearly fixed liability upon the department. For years, the petitioner waited, but the government failed to comply, leaving the court with no option but to order attachment," Jain said. As per calculations submitted to the court, the compensation amount, along with accrued interest, now exceeds Rs.4 lakh. Against the original Rs.2 lakh decree, the prolonged delay in compliance has doubled the financial liability. Nearly 16 years after the petition was filed, and 22 years after the failed operation, the court has now executed enforcement proceedings. Following the attachment order issued a week earlier, the CMHO's vehicle was formally seized on Thursday. Advocate Jain emphasized that the case highlights both the hardships of ordinary families and the consequences of administrative negligence. "This woman opted for sterilization solely due to her poor financial condition. The failure of the operation forced her to raise a fifth child. After years of litigation, justice has finally taken shape in the form of attachment proceedings," he said....