The State Women’s Commission will not encourage the complainants or defendants appearing before it along with lawyers though they have the right to do so, commission chairperson M.C. Josephine has said.
She told reporters on Tuesday said that most the women approaching the SWC did not have the financial capacity to engage lawyers. While 99% of complainants, did not hire lawyers to present their cases at the commission’s sittings, she said that men appearing before the commission, as defendants, would often come with their lawyers to talk on their behalf.
‘Police complaint’
Ms. Josephine said that in cases with criminal nature, the woman should file a complaint with the police so that the commission could ask the police to provide report. In a case of alleged sexual abuse of a widow by the managing director of a hotel where she was working, the accused did not appear before the commission though notice was served on him four times, she said. The commission has directed the District Police Chief to submit a report within 15 days.
She said that the commission would request the Revenue Minister to provide accommodation to the family of Udayakumar from the Udayagiri here, who had been killed a day before he was to join the police force. The house and the place he had been buried were taken over by the panchayat citing ‘poramboke’ land.
123 complaints
The commission got 123 complaints at the sitting. Seventy were settled, while 43 were deferred for hearing at the next sitting. Reports were sought in nine cases. One was referred to the full commission.