LUCKNOW, Oct. 29 -- Expressing serious concern over the delay in the payment of compensation under a beneficial scheme to a minor rape survivor, the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court has ordered state authorities to pay Rs.3 lakh compensation to her within three days. It also ordered the concerned officials of the district steering committee (chaired by the district magistrate of Lakhimpur Kheri) tasked with distributing such compensation, to pay an additional Rs.2 lakh to her for the delays noticed in the case. "This additional payment has to be paid within 15 days," the court said. It further said the state government is at liberty to deduct the additional Rs.2 lakh amount from the officials responsible for the delay in paying the rape survivor compensation and that departmental action can also be initiated against such officials. A division bench of Justice Shekhar B Saraf and Justice Prashant Kumar in its October 27 order said it was unable to understand the apathy shown by the authorities and added that the officials responsible for the lapse must be held accountable. The court was dealing with a petition filed by the rape survivor to secure compensation payable to her under the Uttar Pradesh Rani Lakshmi Bai Mahila Samman Kosh Rules, 2015, which provide for the grant of compensation to the survivors of heinous and violent crimes. "Till today when the matter was called on, that is, on October 27, 2025, not a single penny has been received by the petitioner/victim. One is unable to understand the apathy of the police officers/statutory authorities, who are required to make this payment under the beneficial scheme provided by the State Government," the court observed. "The entire purpose of providing the compensation to the victims of such a gruesome crime is that the pain of the victim can be soothed urgently and the financial exigency relating to medical treatment may be addressed immediately," it said. The incident occurred in May this year. Under the 2015 Rules, the minor rape survivor was eligible to get Rs.3 lakh as compensation in two instalments within a month of the chargesheet that was filed on June 25. "It is indeed astounding to find that the victim has been forced to file this writ petition on September 9, 2025 for non payment of any of the said instalments to the victim," the court said. HTC...