Haryana to set up 24×7 helpdesk for runaway couples seeking protection

The Haryana government has initiated the process to set up a dedicated 24×7 helpdesk in every district to attend to the grievances of the runaway couples facing threat to life and liberty. A police officer, not below the rank of assistant sub inspector, will look into the representation of such couples and will take a call regarding their complaints within three days. To prevent harm to such couples during the period of the inquiry, the police officer will be empowered to provide them shelter or protection at the preliminary stage itself too.

In a notification issued on February 17, Additional Chief Secretary (home) Sumita Misra mentioned that the helpdesk shall maintain an electronic record of the movement of each representation specifying time and date of receipt, name of officer assigned, the stage of hearing, and the status of the inquiry. The Haryana government has framed the guidelines in compliance with the directions passed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in June last year.

The notification mentions that in 2018, the Supreme Court had issued certain directions to the authorities concerned while hearing a writ petition “Shakti Vahini versus Union of India”. Thereafter, following the directions of the high court in a case titled “Lovepreet Kaur and another versus state of Punjab”, a standard operating procedure (SOP) was framed and circulated to the officers and the police field units. Stating that the SOP was not exhaustive, the latest notification noted that all measures in accordance with law and directions issued by the courts were required to be taken to ensure safety to life and liberty of individuals and runaway couples.