The death of an intellectually-disabled rape survivor three months ago, after years of waiting for the release of her full compensation as a ‘victim of a serious crime’, has led the Supreme Court to realise the lack of awareness about victim compensation and, worse, that many trial judges simply forget to pass the order.

“We find that one of the impediments in disbursement of victim compensation to the victims is the absence of a direction being issued by the Special Courts/Sessions Courts to pay compensation to 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,” a Bench of Justices B.V.

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