JUSTICE G.N.

SABHAHIT MEMORIAL LECTURE DELIVERED BY

JUSTICE MOHAN M. SHANTANAGOUDAR ON 29.1.2016 AT
CHANNABASAPPA HALL, KARNATAKA GOVERNMENT
SECRETARIAT CLUB, CUBBON PARK, BANGALORE
TOPIC: VICTIM COMPENSATION IN CRIMINAL
JUSTICE SYSTEM

The Criminal Justice System consists of mainly three parts.

They are:

1. Criminology
2. Penology
3. Victimology

Criminology is a science which makes scientific study

of crimes and it finds the causes for crime. It investigates as

to why the crime is being committed and it also finds

preventive measures. The Criminology students study as to

how the crime should be prevented as the study of crime.

Criminology is Study of Crimes.

Penlogy: Penology is study of penal action consequent

to the crime committed. The accused is put on trial and if he

is found guilty, he is convicted and sentenced. That is

penology.
 While imposing penalty or punishment the victim is

virtually ignored. Therefore, new branch has emerged i.e.

Victimology.

“Victimology” is a scientific study of sufferance of

victims due to crime. It is now a growing branch. Students of

Victimology study as to how justice should be provided to the

victim of crime. It formulates the methods to determine

compensation for the crime victim. It also provides remedies

to the victim if compensation is not paid. For the purpose of

rehabilitation, reparation of the victim or his legal heirs as the

case may be, the Courts have felt it necessary to pay

compensation. Merely because the offender is convicted, the

victim may not get full justice. To complete the wheel of

criminal justice, the crime victim shall have to be

compensated appropriately.

Victimology is a branch of Humane Criminal Justice

System. Therefore, the study is now being made

approximately since 1975 onwards in India.

 2. Dear friends, for every crime committed, there are at

least three victims, first is society, the second is the actual or

primary victim and the third is dependent of victim.

“Society” is a victim, because Society suffers the

violation of its laws. Basically and generally, in India, we

consider that the crime committed by a person is against the

State. Only in few cases, the offences are exclusively

committed not against the State but against an individual.

Since we treat the crime is against the State, the State

prosecutes every crime with its funds. Society is bothered of

law and order problem. Society wants to punish the wrong

doers by taking care of innocent people. The Society has

found out the method of punishing the accused as per law i.e.

with the help of Indian Penal Code, Cr.P.C. etc., The society

as a victim gets justice by punishing wrong doer as per law.

3. The next victims are the actual victim and his

dependents. It is disturbing to note that the victim, though is

a primarily affected person in terms of loss of life, limb,

property, honour, dignity etc., he is relegated to secondary

position though he is primarily affected. He has got no say or

very little say in the investigation process and criminal trials.

Generally the criminal trials are being conducted by the

Prosecution. During investigation he does not have any voice

and he is at the mercy of Investigating Officer. During trial

also, the victim is at the mercy of Public Prosecutor. State

conducts the trial. So, the victim has got very little voice. Of

course, nowadays, the law is amended, so as to enable the

victim to file appeal. What is the use of filing the appeal by

the victim, since the trial would have been already conducted

by the third parties. At the most we can say that the

unreasonable acquittals are permitted to be appealed against

by the victim. But, if the material is not collected in

accordance with law by the investigation agency or during

trial, the victim will definitely be affected. Simply speaking or

generally speaking, the victim is a forgotten party in criminal

justice system. Entire focus is on the offender, to protect his

rights, his fundamental rights, human rights, fair trial, the

protection from custodial harassment, etc. faced by the

accused. All the problems of the accused are taken care of by

the Society/State ignoring the plight of the victim. The

resources are spent by the State to take care of the accused.

Of course, accused will have to be treated with dignity as he

is deemed to be innocent till he is convicted; but the victim,

more often, is left to himself/herself without there being any

assistance from any quarter including the State. Why should

he be ignored? Ultimately, he is the person who is mainly

affected. More often little or no assistance would be coming in

his way.

Take for example, a case of a murder. If the deceased is

a sole bread earner, what should happen to the family? His

entire family will be on streets. What should happen to the

wife of the deceased? minor children of the deceased? On the

contrary in our Society, accused is protected. (If he is

powerful), the people will back him and not the victim. If a

person’s limb is amputed in the crime or some grievous

injuries are inflicted, he and his dependents will have to suffer

all through.

Take an example of acid burns case. Generally the

victims of acid burns are women. Looking to the present day

conviction rate of about 15 to 20%, the victims of acid burns

get hardly any compensation or meager compensation.

Generally the acid is thrown on the face of the victim. She

may or may not know about the actual culprit. The victim’s

face will be disfigured permanently. She/he may even be

incapacitated. Because of disfiguration of victim’s face and

other parts of her body, the marriage prospects of the victims

of acid burns will be very remote. The victim may not be

able to get job also. Nowadays, in private sector, the

appointments are made from among the candidates who are

good looking and good speaking. In the present days of

competition, the victims of such offences may not get any

opportunity to earn their livelihood also. Under such

circumstances, the question to be asked as to what should

happen to such victims ?

If the property of the victim is lost in the crime, if a poor

man’s hut is set on fire, his plight cannot be imagined at all.

Of course, a notification is issued in Karnataka State for

payment of about `10,000/- or `20,000/- etc., to such

victims, which is hardly sufficient. If the gold or other

valuable ornaments are subject matter of the theft or robbery

or dacoity, the fate of victim depends on recovery of property.

If the recovery is only to an extent of 20% or 30% etc., (as it

generally happens), then how to compensate the victim for

that? We have to ponder our attention in that aspect. The

violation of victim’s rights, invasion of his dignity, the actual

losses incurred by him do not constitute matters of concern of

any one, but of himself. Strange but true, justice fails to

redress the wrong perpetrated by the offender on the victim,

on the contrary, it aggregates injustice by solely focusing on

the offender.

4. In this context, series of debates are conducted &

Judgments of the Supreme Court and High Courts right from

1979 onwards are delivered. In the Judgment reported in AIR

1980 SC 2147 (Maru Ram’s case), the Apex Court has

observed that while considering the problem of penology the

Court should not overlook the plight of Victimology and the

suffering of the people who die, suffer or are maimed at the

hands of the criminals. The Apex Court in the case of State

of Gujarat Vs. High Court of Gujarat - (1998)7 SCC 392,

has observed that in our effort to look after and protect the

human rights of the accused or human rights of the convict

we cannot forget the victim or his family in case of his death

or who is otherwise incapacitated to earn his livelihood

because of the crime committed by an offender.

Subsequently number of similar judgments are delivered by

the Apex Court and High Courts in India.

Without any fault of him the victim has to suffer all

through his life. On the contrary accused who commits crime

enjoys at the cost of State. He is taking advantage of his

crime because the law provides the same to him. I am not

saying that the law should not aid the accused but the same

facility in the sense of rehabilitation, reparation or

compensation at least to some extent in any form shall have

to be provided to victim.

5. The law as it stands today, has the provisions

relating to compensation of victims such as Sections 357,

357A, 357B, 357C, 358 and 359 of Cr.P.C. Under Section

357(1) of Cr.P.C. if fine imposed is part of the sentence, then

the entire fine or part of the fine may be given to the victim.

Kindly touch your heart and tell me as to in how many cases

the Courts have imposed fine of more than `5000/- or

`10,000/- in a murder case involving, rape or dacoity etc.

With my little experience as a defense advocate, public

prosecutor, as a judge, I have not seen the Courts imposing

heavy fine. The Courts simply after convicting and sentencing

impose a fine of `5,000/- to `10,000/-. Can we call it as a

compensation? Even if the entire fine amount is disbursed to

victim, it does not help the victim. We also do not know as to

whether the compensation actually reaches the poor victim or

not; but this is the fact situation. Section 357(3) Cr.P.C states

that if fine does not form part of the sentence of

imprisonment, then compensation can be levied. The Judges

unfortunately are not taking advantage of that provision also.

The Courts have not been imposing fine or compensation of

more than `1,000/-, `2,000/- or `5,000/- which will not be of

any help to the victim. As said earlier if fine does not form

part of the sentence of imprisonment, the Court can impose

compensation. There is no limit prescribed for imposing

compensation under Section 357(3) Cr.P.C. It may be one

lakh, two lakhs or three lakhs etc. But in majority of the cases

we do not find such award of compensation.

6. In the year 2003, Gujarat High Court in the case of

State of Gujarat Vs. Raghu @ Raghavbhai Vashrambhai

& others- 2003(1) GLR 205 passed an order observing that

it is high time that the State shall create the victim welfare

fund on a statutory basis. Thereafter, the discussion started

on all India basis, ultimately the Section 357A Cr.P.C. is

enacted in the year 2009. It says that the State shall frame

Victim Compensation Scheme. Compensation shall be paid to

the victim depending on the facts and circumstances of the

case as per such scheme. Enquiry has to be held by the State

Legal Services Authority or the District Legal Services

Authority, as the case may be.

7. Compensation is imposed by the Courts based on

facts and circumstances and it is generally ordered to be paid

by the accused. If accused himself is not in a position to pay,

what should happen to victim? If the accused himself is not in

a position to pay, there is no use in imposing the

compensation to be paid by the accused. Thus justice fails.

Therefore, the State has to take ponder its attention and

create a fund and implement the scheme with all seriousness.

Unless the fund under Section 357A is created effectively,

keeping in mind the present day costs of litigation, escalation

in prices and rupee value, the justice cannot be done to the

victims.

It is relevant to note that the scheme as framed by the

Karnataka State Government is called “Karnataka Victim

Compensation Scheme, 2011” and the same has come into

effect from the date of its publication in the official gazette.

The said notification is dated 22nd February 2012 and the

same is gazetted on 19th April 2012. Thus the Scheme has

come into existence from 19.4.2012. Under the said Scheme,

the Victim Compensation Fund shall be created. Further, the

eligibility criteria and the procedure for grant of compensation

is also prescribed in the notification. It also prescribes

maximum limit of quantum of compensation to be paid to the

victim or his dependants as the case may be in respect of

certain offences. The Schedule mentioned in the notification,

dated 22.2.2012, is as under:

Sl. Particulars of Loss or Injury due toMaximum Limit

No. crime of quantum of
compensation
1 Loss of Life ` 2.00 Lacs
2 Loss of any limb or part of body ` 1.00 Lac
resulting 80% or above handicap.
3 Loss of any limb or part of body ` 50,000/-
resulting 40% and below 80%
handicap.
4 Rape of Minor ` 50,000/-
5 Rape ` 40,000/-
6 Rahabilitation necessitated due to ` 20,000/-
damage to house, vehicle etc.
7 Loss of any limb or part of body ` 20,000/-
resulting below 40% handicap
8 Grievous injuries other than the ` 10,000/-
injuries mentioned above.
9 Women and Child victims in cases like ` 10,000/-
human trafficking, who themselves or
their dependents have suffered
separation, dislocation and
disturbance.

From the aforementioned Schedule, it is clear that the

compensation as provided under the Scheme is too meager.

It is highly disproportionate to the gravity of the offence and

the sufferings of the victim. For the offence of rape of minor,

only `50,000/- is provided; for the offence of rape, only

`40,000/- is provided ; and for loss of life, a meager sum of

`2,00,000/- is provided to the victim.

By Government Order No.HD 1 PCB 2011, Bangalore,

dated 19.9.2013, the Schedule is modified and enhanced the

compensation to certain extent, which is as under:-

Sl. Particulars of Loss or Injury due to Compensation to

No. crime be paid
1 Loss of Life
a) 40 years of age or below. ` 3.00 lacs to the
next of kin
b) 40 years to 60 years ` 2.00 lacs to the
next of kin
c) 60 years and above ` 1.00 lac to the
next of kin
Note: In case of death of a victim, expenses incurred for
actual medical treatment, before death, upto a
maximum of ` 25,000/- and a maximum of ` 20,000/-
may be given as funeral expense, to the next kin of the
victim in case of victim’s death
2 Loss of any limb or part of body ` 3.00 lacs
resulting 80% or above handicap due
to any crime including Acid Attack
3 Loss of any limb or part of body ` 2.00 lacs
resulting 40% & below 80% handicap
due to any crime including Acid
Attack
4 Loss of any limb or part of body ` 1.00 lac
resulting below 40% handicap due to
any crime including Acid Attack
5 Rape of Minor ` 3.00 lacs
6 Rape other than minor ` 1.5 lacs
7 (a) Rehabilitation necessitated due to ` 50,000/-
damage to house etc. 80% or more
 (b) Rehabilitation necessitated due to ` 25,000/-
damage to house etc. less than 80%
8 Grievous injuries other than the ` 20,000/-
injuries mentioned above
9 Women and Child victims in cases like ` 1.00 lac
human trafficking, who themselves or
their dependents have suffered
separation, dislocation and
disturbance

Even the amounts mentioned in the said Schedule are

on the lesser side. In this context, the Supreme Court in the

case of Suresh and another Vs. State of Hariyana

{(2015)2 SCC 227} has observed that the Schedule as

announced by the Kerala Government under Section 357A of

Cr.P.C. appears to be on the higher side and therefore the

same needs to be followed by other States in case if the

amounts mentioned in the Schedules of those particular

States are on the lesser side. In this context, it is beneficial

to note the Schedule of compensation announced by the

Kerala State by its Notification, dated 24.2.2014 and the

same is as under:-
 SCHEDULE
COMPENSATION TO VICTIM FOR INJURY/LOSS

Sl.No. Description of injury/loss Amount of compensation

(1) (2) (3)

1 Death Maximum upto ` 5 lakhs

2 Culpable homicide not Maximum upto ` 3 lakhs

amounting to murder

3 Causing death by negligence Maximum upto ` 2 lakhs

4 Dowry related violence Maximum upto ` 2 lakhs

5 Permanent Disability Maximum upto ` 3 lakhs

(80% or more)

6 Partial Disability Maximum upto ` 1 lakh

(40% to 80%)

7 Burns affecting greater Maximum upto ` 2 lakhs

than 25% of the body

8 Burns affecting less than Maximum upto ` 20,000

25% of the body

9 Loss of foetus Maximum upto ` 50,000

10 Physical abuse of minor Maximum upto ` 50,000

11 Rape Maximum upto ` 3 lakhs

12 Sexual assault Maximum upto ` 50,000

13 Fracture/dislocations Maximum upto ` 1.5 lakhs

 8. Under Sections 357, 357-A, 357B, 357C, 358, 359

etc., the actual victims will get compensation. There is one

more provision in Section 250 Cr.P.C. If the prosecution is

launched based on false accusation, and ultimately after trial,

if the person is acquitted and if the trial Court finds that

absolutely false case is foisted, then, the compensation is to

be levied on the complainant under Section 250 Cr.P.C. The

Courts are not exercising Jurisdiction under Section 250

Cr.P.C also. In such matters, the alleged accused is the

victim of the illegal prosecution. Because of the guilt of the

complainant/State, the accused has suffered. Even FIR

attaches a stigma in certain cases. Therefore, if accusation is

made without unreasonable cause and if the Court feels that

absolutely false case is launched, then the Court may impose

compensation under Section 250 Cr.P.C.

9. As said earlier, the provisions as of now available are

mainly Section 357 or 357A, 357B and 357C Cr.P.C. Under

Section 357A Cr.P.C. the victim will get some benefit; but till

this day, the said provision is also not utilized by Courts

effectively. Compensation to be provided under Section 357A

Cr.P.C. is in addition to the compensation under Section 357

Cr.P.C. In my opinion, Article 41 of the Constitution of India

which comes under Part IV of the Constitution will take care

of compensation also. Article 41 reads thus:

“Article 41. Right to work, to

education and to public assistance
in certain cases. – The State shall,
within the limits of it’s economic capacity
and development, make effective
provision for securing the right to work,
to education and to public assistance in
cases of unemployment, old age,
sickness and disablement, and in other
cases of undeserved want.”

This provision can be taken assistance of by the State to

create fund more effectively.

10. Because of the murder, the legal representatives of

the victims will become orphans. The victim who has suffered

disablement also would be virtually orphan. In this context, it

is relevant to note certain of the observations of the Justice

Malimath Committee on the subject. Justice Malimath

Committee in its Report (paragraphs 6.9.1) has observed

thus: (relevant portion)

“Victims of crime are important players

in criminal justice administration both as
complainant/informant and as witness for
the police/prosecution. Despite the system
being heavily dependent on the victim,
criminal justice has been concerned with the
offender and his interests almost
subordinating or disregarding the interest of
victim. In Civil Law systems generally, the
victims enjoyed better status than in
Administration of Criminal Justice”

11. Whenever an accident takes place, a crime is

committed either under Section 304A IPC or under Section

338 IPC or under Section 279 IPC, etc. The victim of the

accident approaches the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal

claiming compensation i.e. he takes the assistance of Civil

law. There will be quantification of compensation in

systematic method. Substantial amount of compensation

would be paid to a victim under Civil law system whereas, in

Criminal justice system, it is not so. Because the law provides

for compensation under MV Act, the victim will get

compensation though a crime is committed. But who will

compensate for the life and liberty or loss of limb and

properties of victim suffered in other crimes? If the property

is acquired by Government, compensation is paid under Land

Acquisition Act. But if property is lost or damaged in crime,

the compensation is hardly paid.

12. About three or four hundred years back i.e., in

ancient times, there was no distinction between civil law and

criminal law. Panchayaths etc., were there. Whenever a

crime is committed in those days, Panchas or the Judge or the

decision making people used to direct the accused to

compensate the victim in terms of money or property. They

used to compensate victim by directing payment of money or

agricultural land/house etc. At that point of time, there was

no provision for sending a person to jail for the offences

committed. Thereafter civil law and criminal law were

bifurcated. Even when the civil and criminal law were

bifurcated, the victim did not get anything under Criminal law

system because whenever the crime is committed, the

criminal courts used to direct the victim to approach the civil

court for initiating action for recovering damages, because

evidence is needed for the said purpose and as it was the

duty of the civil Court to quantify damages. To avoid all those

difficulties, now the present trend is, to have the provision for

compensation also in criminal justice system. With that

object, Sections 357, 357A Cr.P.C. etc., are introduced. But,

they are not full-fledged according to me. In my opinion, a

separate enactment should be passed.

In developed countries like England, US, France,

Canada, Newzealand, Ireland, there are separate laws for

compensating the victims. England was probably the first

State to enact the law for grant of compensation to victims.

The law was relating to victim compensation by the State

under Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme, 1964. Under

Criminal Justice Act 1972, the idea of payment of

compensation by the offender was introduced for the first

time. The Apex Court in the case of Delhi Domestic

Working Women’s Forum vs. Union of India and others

- (1995) 1 SCC 14 has quoted the extract with approval

from the “Oxford Handbook of Criminology”. The relevant

portion reads thus :

“These developments signified a major

shift in penology thinking, reflecting the
growing importance attached to restitution
and reparation over the more narrowly
retributive aims of conventional punishment.
The Criminal Justice Act, 1982 furthered this
shift. It required Courts to consider the
making of a compensation order in every
case of death, injury, loss or damage and,
where such an order was not given, imposed
a duty on the Court to give reasons for not
doing so. It also extended the range of
injuries eligible for compensation. These new
requirements mean that if the court fails to
make a compensation order it must furnish
reasons.”

In my considered opinion, it would be better if the Court

records reasons for not paying compensation. This is the law

already enacted in England. It says, the Court should consider

in each and every criminal case as to whether the victim

should be paid compensation or not, though it is

discretionary. If the compensation is not to be paid to the

victim, the court shall record reasons for not paying

compensation. So it is the duty of the court to apply its mind

in each and every case to find out as to whether the

compensation should be paid or not.

The United States of America has enacted the Victim and

Witness Protection Act, 1982. It authorizes the Federal Court

to award restitution by means of monetary compensation as

part of conviction and sentence. The relevant provision of the

Act reads thus:

“If the Court does not order restitution or

orders only the partial restitution, the Court
shall include in the statement the reasons
thereof.”

So, the Court in USA has to record reasons as to why

there is no order for restitution or as to why there is order for

partial restitution etc. So, in each and every case, again the

compensation aspect has to be considered by the Court after

giving conviction. In American law, there will be an enquiry

after conviction by the Court. Such enquiry is called as

“Presentation Investigation”. After conviction of the accused

enquiry will be held to find as to whether compensation needs

to be paid or to how much the accused is entitled to. Such

enquiry will be completed within five weeks and on the basis

of enquiry report, the compensation will be disbursed.

Even the UN General Assembly has recognized the right

of victims to receive compensation by passing a resolution

titled ‘Declaration on Basic Principles of Justice for Victims and

Abuse of Power, 1985’. The UN General Assembly resolution

contains the provision relating to restitution and

compensation as under :

Restitution :
“The offenders or third parties responsible
for their behavior should where appropriate,
make fair restitution to victims, their
families or dependents. Such restitution
should include the return of property or
payment for the harm or loss suffered,
reimbursement of expenses incurred as a
result of victimization, the provision of
services and restoration of rights.” The
government should review the practices,
resolutions and laws to consider restitution
as an available sentencing option in criminal
cases in addition to other criminal sanctions.

Compensation :

“12. When compensation is not fully

available from the offender or other
sources, States should endeavour to provide
financial compensation to :

(a) Victims who have sustained significant

bodily injury or impairment of physical or
mental health as a result of serious crimes;

(b) The family, in particular dependants of

persons who have died or become physically
or mentally incapacitated as a result of such
victimization.

13. The establishment, strengthening and

expansion of national funds for
compensation to victims should be
encouraged. Where appropriate, other funds
may also be established for this purpose,
including in those cases where the State of
which the victim is a national is not in a
position to compensate the victim for the
harm.”
 13. One more resolution is passed by UN General

Assembly with regard to the victims of international crimes

called as “Basic Principles and Guidelines on the right to

remedy and Reparation of Victims of Gross Violations of

International Human Rights law and Serious Violations of

International Humanitarian Law 2005”. In respect of victims

of international crimes, the UN General Assembly passed the

said resolution for compensating the victim.

14. So, Dear Friends, all the developed countries as well

as UN General Assembly have passed either Acts or

resolutions. Some of the countries have already enacted law

to the effect that the victim should be paid compensation and

imposed the duty on the Court to verify in each and every

case to find out as to whether the compensation is to be paid

to the victim or not.

Most important aspect is that the State should create

victim compensation fund generously. I am pressing this

point because in a country like India, the crimes are

committed by poor people. I have seen so many cases

wherein crime is committed for two idlies, crime is committed

for one cigarette. If it is so, how do you expect the accused to

compensate the victim’s family? It is impossible for the

accused to compensate in such cases. Ultimately it is the duty

of the State to compensate the victim.

15. Dear Friends, an interesting case came before the

Supreme Court in Ramesh Kumar Vs. Ram Kumar - AIR

1984 SC 1029. It was a case of Section 302 IPC. The trial

Court convicted and sentenced the accused to undergo

imprisonment for life. The matter came up before the High

Court. The High Court probably on verifying with the accused

as well as the victim reduced the gravity of the offence by

convicting the accused for the offence under Section 304 part

II IPC and imposed sentence of imprisonment for two years

(probably because by then the accused had already

undergone two years of imprisonment) and as compensation,

three acres of land was directed to be given by accused to

victim. Most importantly, in that matter, the reduction of

sentence was not on merits. But only with a view to

compensate the victim, the sentence was reduced probably

with the consent of the accused as well as victim. Ultimately

the matter went up to Supreme Court. The Supreme Court set

aside the order of the High Court and said that if the

judgment of the High Court is accepted then the entire

system of Administration of Criminal Justice would be reduced

to mockery. Therefore, in our anxiety to award compensation,

we should not reduce the sentence or we should not reduce

the gravity of the punishment. The power of Court to award

compensation is not ancillary to other sentences but it is in

addition thereto. On merits, the Court will have to impose

punishment and in addition thereto may award compensation.

The Apex Court in the case of Ankush Shivaji

Gaikwad vs. State of Maharashtra - (2013)6 SCC 770 in

its very detailed judgment authored by Justice T.S. Thakur as

he then was, has considered the question relating to victim

compensation. In that judgment, the Supreme Court has

discussed all the previous judgments on the point and has

referred to the different laws of the different countries & UN

General Assembly resolutions etc. Ultimately it is held that, it

is the duty of the Court to consider payment of compensation

in each and every case and the Court will have to record

reasons, as to why Court is not granting compensation, if the

Court has not granted compensation. The Apex Court while

concluding observes thus :

“66. To sum up : While the award or refusal of

compensation in a particular case may be within
the Court’s discretion, there exists a mandatory
duty on the Court to apply its mind to the question
in every criminal case. Application of mind to the
question is best disclosed by recording reasons for
awarding/refusing compensation. It is axiomatic
that for any exercise involving application of mind,
the Court ought to have the necessary material
which it would evaluate to arrive at a fair and
reasonable conclusion. It is also beyond dispute
that the occasion to consider the question of award
of compensation would logically arise only after the
court records a conviction of the accused. Capacity
of the accused to pay which constitutes an
important aspect of any order under Section 357
Cr.P.C. would involve a certain enquiry albeit
summary unless of course the facts as emerging in
the course of the trial are so clear that the court
considers it unnecessary to do so. Such an enquiry
 can precede an order on sentence to enable the
court to take a view, both on the question of
sentence and compensation that it may in its
wisdom decide to award to the victim or his/her
family.”

It is also ruled in the said judgment that even where the

cases end in acquittal or discharge, the duty lies on the State

to pay compensation.

Thus, as the things stand, it is for the Courts to provide

relief to the victims based on the available law. As on this day

the available law is only in the form of Sections 357, 357A

Cr.P.C. etc. While recording the evidence itself generally in

about 50% of the cases we would be knowing about the

capacity of the accused to pay and know as to whether he is

well off or not, etc. If he is in a position to pay then the

Courts may impose compensation depending on the facts of

the case. If he is not in a position to pay then we make use of

Section 357A Cr.P.C. and direct the State to pay the

compensation.

16. The recent judgments on the points are:-

a) ILR 2015 Karnataka 4879 – State Vs.

Rangaswamy (Division Bench headed by me): -

This Court ordered for payment of `30,000/- for

rehabilitating the victim who had lost his hut in the

crime. In the said judgment, the Court had evaluated

the loss suffered by the victim at `30,000/-. The Court

also said in the very judgment that the provisions of

Section 357A of Cr.P.C. and the key framed therein are

applicable to all pending matters.

b) 2015(2) SCC 227 – Suresh & another Vs. State of

Hariyana: As mentioned supra, I have already said

about the scheme announced by the Kerala State

appears to be on the higher side in respect of the

compensation under certain headings. The Apex Court

in Suresh’s Case has ruled that if the Scheme

announced by the Kerala State appears to be higher,

then all the High Courts are directed to adopt the

compensation announced in the said Scheme. Though

the Scheme in that particular State allots a lesser

compensation. The object behind the same is that the

 victims of crimes cannot be differentiated in India and

all victims wherever they are from would get similar

compensation for the similar loss. It is reiterated in the

said judgment that even when the cases end in acquittal

or discharge, compensation needs to be paid to the

victim. The Apex Court has further gone to direct the

concerned Legal Services Authority to pay interim

compensation if need be for rehabilitation of the victim

in any particular case.

In the case of Ranganatha Vs. State (Criminal Appeal

No.660/2010, disposed of on 20.11.2015) Justice

A.V.Chandrashekara following the judgments in Ankush

Shivaji Gaikwad’ Case and Suresh’s Case mentioned

supra, has laid down certain guidelines to be followed by the

Public Prosecutors, Government Authorities, Karnataka State

Legal Services Authority and the Director of Karnataka Judicial

Academy, etc.

I conclude with the note that “the victims cannot be

victimized any further”.

Thank you.