<RAJKUMAR MEENA>
Intern at ubAdvocate
Email- rajkumarmeena@
rgnul.ac.in
Contact- 9352080612
Private and Confidential
To, Miss Mamta,
XYZ Street,
ABC.
Dear Mamta,
In response to your request, here is the opinion. The facts, provided by you are as follows:-
Mamta is a college student and a victim of rape. She is psychologically disturbed and unable to
attend even her college. She needs regular counseling by a psychologist. Further, she needs a
tutor at home. However, she is a poor girl and her parents cannot afford the expenditure. She
approached an NGO, who assured her that she will get compensation once the case is decided in
her favour. But, she is in urgent need of assistance.
Before discussing in detail your legal rights to have some financial help when the case is still
pending in court, you must know that you have a right to seek compensation. Apart from the
provisions of compensation to the rape victim after the conviction of the accused; section 357A
of the Code of Criminal Procedure talks about the Victim Compensation Scheme. This section is
introduced after the guideline of the Hon’ble Supreme Court given in the case of Nipun Saxena
v. Union of India (2012). Keeping these guidelines in mind the National Legal Service
Authority (NALSA) formed the Model Rules for the Victim Compensation for Sexual Offences.
This is popularly known as Compensation Scheme for Women Victims. This scheme was
accepted by the Hon’ble SC and ordered all the states and the Union Territories to apply this
scheme. You should also note that nothing in that scheme can be curtailed by the respective state
government, although they can add anything more as per their convenience. This scheme
provides minimum compensation of four lakhs which can be extended to a maximum of seven
lakhs. Although, if the court is of the view that the said amount is inadequate in the particular
case then the court can recommend more compensation.
You should note that to seek compensation, one must fill Form 1. Once the FIR is filed then the
SHO of the concerned police station should hare that FIR with the concerned State Legal
Authority or the District Legal Authority. This application of award can be submitted either by
the SHO of the concerned police station, or by you, or by any of your dependents.
Now addressing your query regarding any legal way out so that you can have some financial help
as a matter of right. You should know that you don't need to get compensation once the trial is
complete. The Hon’ble Kerala High Court in the case of Serina Mondal Alias Piyada v. The
State of West Bengal And Ors (2018) held that the compensation provided in section 357A of
the Code of Criminal Procedure is given because the state failed to protect you hence violating
your fundamental right enriched under article 21 of the Constitution of India. The Hon’ble SC in
the case of Manohar Singh v. the State of Rajasthan And Ors (2015) held that compensation
can be given even if crime goes unpunished for want of adequate evidence.
You should also note that to avail of maximum compensation you should try to include these
factors (mentioned below) in your application. You should include the severity of physical and
mental health in the application. In case there is no physical injury caused then you should
include emotional and mental injuries. You should include the approximate expenditure for your
medical treatment as well as counseling fees to treat your mental health. You should also
mention any loss of education due to the consequences of the act. You should also mention that
whether it was a single isolated incident or a continuous abuse over a period of time. You should
also mention that whether you got pregnant due to the act or contracted any STD or any other
complications.
To sum up, you should know that it is your right to seek interim relief in a way of compensation
up to twenty-five percent of the compensation amount. You have a right to seek this
compensation apart from all other reliefs which are given in the legal provisions.
One thing: the foregoing opinion is based on the Youtube video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nx4MEFnY33A of Jeevan Prakash, AOR, Supreme Court.
Regards,
