SC directs trial courts to pass directions for compensating rape victims in appropriate cases

    New Delhi, Nov 7 (PTI) The Supreme Court has directed the sessions courts and POCSO courts to pass directions under the law for compensation to victims of rape and sexual assault in appropriate cases.
    A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and R Mahadevan sought the responses of the Centre and the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) on a plea alleging the State's continuing denial of rightful compensation to rape victims due to administrative apathy and systemic neglect by authorities.
    The court was hearing a plea filed by Jyoti Praveen Khandapasole through advocate Gaurav Kumar Bansal, highlighting the case of a 25-year-old mentally-challenged rape victim from Maharashtra's Amravati district who was denied rightful compensation under section 357A of the Code of Criminal procedure (CrPC) and the Manodhairya scheme due to the "persistent failure" of state authorities.
    The bench said it finds that one of the impediments in the disbursement of compensation to victims is the absence of a direction from the special courts or session courts to compensate the victims of a crime.
    "Consequently, the victims have to seek such compensation on their own, either by making an application to the state legal services authority or by any other means known to law. There is also an absence of awareness in this regard," the bench said in its November 3 order.
    "In the circumstances, we direct that the concerned special courts/session courts ought to pass appropriate directions with regard to payment of victim compensation in appropriate cases, so that the implementation of the said directions of the concerned special courts/session courts could be easily made by the State Legal Services Authority through the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) or the Taluk Legal Services Authority, as the case may be," it added.
    The bench directed the registry to dispatch the order's copies to the registrars general of all the high courts for onward transmission to principal district judges for communication to the special courts concerned.
    "Further, the registrars general of all the high courts shall communicate this order to the directors of all the state judicial academies for onward communication to all principal district judges at the special courts/session courts and also to impress upon the concerned special court judges with regard to the aspect of payment of victim compensation during the course of their training in the state judicial academies in accordance with section 357A of the CrPC, corresponding to section 396 of the BNSS and the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act and Rules," it said.
    In her plea, Khandapasole said despite the offender's conviction and explicit judicial directions from the trial court to ensure compensation, the institutional apathy exhibited by the DLSA in Amravati resulted in irreparable harm.
    She pointed out that following the death of her mother, who was her sole caregiver, on May 10, 2024, the DLSA released only partial compensation to the rape victim in two instalments in March and May 2025, far too late to provide meaningful relief and insufficient to meet the scheme's intended purpose.
    Tragically, the rape survivor herself passed away on August 11, having never been fully compensated for the immense suffering she endured, the plea pointed out.
    "The facts of this petition, though rooted in a specific instance, reveal a recurring national pattern of systemic neglect where rape victims are routinely denied access to the schemes and remedies guaranteed by law. The delayed and partial disbursal of funds, coupled with the deaths of both the victim and her mother, demonstrates a catastrophic failure of the State to uphold the constitutional guarantees of equality, dignity and life under Articles 14, 15(3) and 21," it said.
    The plea said the case exemplifies a broader pattern of neglect that disproportionately affects marginalised victims, particularly those with disabilities and limited resources, highlighting a systemic breakdown in the protective and rehabilitative mechanisms mandated by law.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)