In a significant judgment, the Rajasthan High Court has held that minor victims of rape are entitled to get compensation even if the incident had occurred before 2009 when an amendment was made to the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) in this regard. After the insertion of Section 357A in CrPC through the amendment, the State government framed a victim compensation scheme in 2011.
Section 357A of CrPC requires States to create a scheme for compensating victims of crime and their dependents. The scheme involves setting up a fund to compensate victims who have suffered loss or injury as a result of the crime. The compensation is paid out of the fund, and not by the offender.
Justice Anoop Kumar Dhand at the High Court’s Jaipur Bench issued a general mandamus on January 3, in favour of all minor victims of rape with whom the offence was committed before 2009, for the award of compensation. The court said the order would be applicable only in those cases where the victims had submitted a claim to the authorities prior to the amendment in CrPC.
The Rajasthan Victim Compensation Scheme, 2011, provides for compensation of ₹3 lakh to minor victims of rape and ₹2 lakh to others. The maximum limit of compensation for loss of life is ₹2 lakh, while ₹1 lakh is paid for rehabilitation and an identical amount is given for loss of limb or a part of body resulting in 80% handicap.
The court partly allowed a writ petition moved by the father of a minor girl who was kidnapped and raped in Jaipur’s Sodala area in July 2004, while her rapist was convicted and sentenced to 10 years in jail with a fine of ₹1,000 in May 2005. The trial court did not award any compensation to the victim.
The victim’s father submitted an application to the Jaipur Collector for a grant of compensation of ₹3 lakh, but it remained undecided for want of any such provision in the law.
The High Court ruled that the amended provisions contained in Section 357A of CrPC as well as the State government’s victim compensation scheme applied to the incidents that had occurred before the enactment of the law and framing of the scheme.
The court observed that though Section 357A of CrPC, treated as a substantive provision of law, could not have a retrospective application, giving compensation to the victim for a crime committed before the 2009 amendment, based on the new amendment, could only be considered a “prospective benefit based on an antecedent fact”.
“The crime of rape committed with a minor victim is a dehumanising one and an affront to human dignity. Hence, the compensation should be awarded as a solace to the victim,” the 18-page judgment stated. The court directed the State government and the Rajasthan State Legal Services Authority to comply with the order and pay compensation to the victim within three months.
