Name:- Arpan Chakraborty.
Intern at ubAdvocate.
Email:- arpan.chakraborty292003@gmail.com
contact No.:- 9831156213.
Date:- 01-02-2022
Dear, MANTA.
There are ways where you can seek compensation even before the case is to be
over. If the accused does not have the capacity to pay the compensation or the compensation
awarded against the accused is not adequate for rehabilitation of the victim, the court shall
invoke Section 357-A CrPC to recommend the case to the Delhi State Legal Services
Authority for award of compensation from the victim compensation fund under the Delhi,
Victims Compensation Scheme, 2018.
357A -Victim Compensation Scheme:
1. Every State Government in co-ordination with the Central Government shall prepare a
scheme for providing funds for the purpose of compensation to the victim or his
dependents who have suffered loss or injury as a result of the crime and who require
rehabilitation.
2. Whenever a recommendation is made by the Court for compensation, the District
Legal Services Authority or the State Legal Services Authority, as the case may be,
shall decide the quantum of compensation to be awarded under the scheme referred to
in subsection
3. If the trial Court, at the conclusion of the trial, is satisfied, that the compensation
awarded under Section 357 is not adequate for such rehabilitation, or where the cases
end in acquittal or discharge and the victim has to be rehabilitated, it may make
recommendation for compensation.
4. Where the offender is not traced or identified, but the victim is identified, and where
no trial takes place, the victim or his dependents may make an application to the State
or the District Legal Services Authority for award of compensation.
5. On receipt of such recommendations or on the application under sub-section (4), the
State or the District Legal Services Authority shall, after due enquiry award adequate
compensation by completing the enquiry within two months.
6. The State or the District Legal Services Authority, as the case may be, to alleviate the
suffering of the victim, may order for immediate first-aid facility or medical benefits
to be made available free of cost on the certificate of the police officer not below the
rank of the officer in charge of the police station or a Magistrate of the area
concerned, or any other interim relief as the appropriate authority deems fit.
Rape is one of the most heinous crimes against mankind, as no other crime in itself includes
all the costs i.e. transaction cost + social cost + psychological cost. In Bodhisattwa
Gautam v. Subhra Chakraborty, the Supreme Court reiterated that:
“Rape is not only a crime against the person of a woman (victim), it is a crime against the
entire society. It destroys the entire psychology of a woman and pushed her into deep
emotional crises. It is only by her sheer will power that she rehabilitates herself in the society
which, on coming to know of the rape, looks down upon her in derision and contempt. Rape
is, therefore, the most hated crime. It is a crime against basic human rights and is also
violative of the victim’s most cherished of the fundamental rights, namely, the right to life
contained in Article 21.”
The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 was enacted to address the inadequacy in law
relating to sexual offences against women and children, which led to the creation of the
Nirbhaya Fund. The Central Government also set up the Central Victim Compensation Fund
Scheme vide the notification dated 14-10-2015, by the Ministry of Home Affairs. However,
last year, it was reported that only 36 per cent of the Nirbhaya Fund had been utilised in the
past seven years, which speaks in volumes of the enforcement backdrops apropos India’s
bureaucracy. Moreover, 99 per cent of the minor rape victims of sexual assault remained
without any compensation.
The Supreme Court in Nipun Saxena v. Union of India, deemed it appropriate for National
Legal Services Authority (NALSA) to set up a Committee to prepare Model Rules for Victim
Compensation for sexual offences and acid attacks. Thereafter, the Committee finalised the
Compensation Scheme for Women Victims/Survivors of Sexual Assault/other Crimes —
2018. As per the scheme, a victim of gang rape would get a minimum compensation of Rs 5
lakhs and up to a maximum of Rs 10 lakhs. Similarly, in case of rape and unnatural sexual
assault, the victim would get a minimum of Rs 4 lakhs and a maximum of Rs 7 lakhs. The
victims of acid attacks, in case of disfigurement of face, would get a minimum compensation
of Rs 7 lakhs, while the upper limit would be Rs 8 lakhs. The court then accepted the said
scheme to be applicable across India, which remains the law of the land.
Further at the end of my task I would like to Mention that my opinion is based on the
YouTube link of Mr. Jeevan Prakash AOR, Supreme Court.
Arpan Chakraborty.
Intern at ubAdvocate.
