RIGHTS OF VICTIMS AND LAWS RELATING TO VICTIM COMPENSATION

LAW

“The criminal justice system is a social control device that is used to prevent, discourage, and regulate crime, as well as to prosecute and punish offenders. Criminal acts are seen as an assault on humanity and societal order. The Indian criminal system is founded on the time-honoured ideas of "Let Hundred Guilty Be Acquitted, but Not One Innocent." and "innocent until proved guilty." Legislators have revised and constructed numerous rights, protections, and methods for offenders throughout the years in order to reform and rehabilitate them. However, the most vulnerable party to the crime, the victims, have been overlooked. Victims are not provided with enough support or aid. They have a bare minimum of rights and protections. Their rights have been explored in several legislative reports, such as the 154th Law Commission's and the Malimath Committee's, but to what extent have they been successful? Section 357A of the 1973 Criminal Procedure Code establishes a framework for compensating victims, which was amended in 2009 by the Code of Criminal Procedure Amendment Act, 2008. The same statute included a proviso to section 372 granting victims the right of appeal. This article deals with rights of victims, the policy measures, an analysis on Indian laws dealing with victim rights and compensation.

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