Ashish Tripathi, DH News Service, New Delhi, Sep 28 2017, 16:55 IST
A bench of SC justices observed that while the Centre and states appear to be releasing funds for compensation, it is not reaching the victims. DH file photo.
The Supreme Court has expressed its displeasure on lack of an integrated system for disbursal of compensation to victims of sexual assault in the country.
A bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta also wondered why no records of compensation if paid to the victims were kept and why it has not been decided as to what stage the money is to be paid.
“This is an unhappy state of affairs and the victims of apathy are only those who had already suffered sexual assault and nobody else,” the court said.
“It appears to us that there is no integrated system with regard to disbursal, management and payment of compensation for victims of sexual assault. Prima facie, it appears to us that funds are being handed over to the states by the central government but there is no payment to the victims,” the bench added.
The court asked the Union government's counsel senior advocate A K Panda to assist on how to evolve an integrated and cohesive system of payment of compensation to victims of sexual assault. It also sought views of the government on steps required to be undertaken to rehabilitate the victims or at least reduce or eliminate the trauma they have undergone.
Senior advocate Indira Jaising, appointed as amicus curiae in the matter, contended that there was no record of how many victims of sexual assault have received compensation and to what extent and how much time it has taken and at what stage compensation is paid to the victims. She said different states followed different policy on what stage of a criminal case, the compensation is to be paid. Some paid as high as Rs 10 lakh to the victims while few other disbursed as low as Rs 50,000 to rape survivors.
The court put the matter for further consideration on October 4. The bench also directed the Member Secretary, National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) to be present in the court on the next date of hearing to assist us. Earlier the court had noted a Rs 1000-crore corpus 'Nirbhaya' fund was not being utilised to compensate victims of sexual abuse and assault. Section 357(A) of the Criminal Procedure Code also empowered the court to award compensation to victims of crime.