The Supreme Court on Wednesday said the National Legal Services Authority's (NALSA) scheme for compensating the victims of sexual assault and acid attacks should be used as guidelines by special courts in awarding compensation to minor victims of sexual abuse till the Centre finalises the rules.
The apex court took note of the fact that no rules have been framed by the Centre under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act on the basis of which special courts could award compensation to minor victims of cases under the law.
A bench headed by Justice Madan B Lokur, which had earlier accepted the NALSA's 'Compensation Scheme for Women Victims/Survivors of Sexual Assault/Other Crimes-2018', said the scheme and the guidelines would be operational across the country from October 2.
"...We are of the opinion that the NALSA compensation scheme should function as the guidelines for special courts (under the POCSO Act) to award compensation to the victims of sexual abuses until rules are formalised by the central government," the bench, which also comprised Justices S Abdul Nazeer and Deepak Gupta, said.
The bench said the special court would take into consideration the provisions of the POCSO Act, which is gender neutral, as well as the circumstances of the cases while awarding interim compensation to the minor victims of sexual assaults.
As per NALSA's scheme, a victim of gang rape in any part of the country would get a minimum compensation of Rs 5 lakh and up to a maximum of Rs 10 lakh.
Similarly, in case of rape and unnatural sexual assault, the victim would get a minimum of Rs 4 lakh and maximum of Rs 7 lakh as compensation.
The scheme also says that the victims of acid attacks, in case of disfigurement of the face, would get a minimum compensation of Rs 7 lakh, while the upper limit would be Rs 8 lakh.
In acid attack cases, if the injury is more than 50 per cent, a minimum compensation of Rs 5 lakh would be given, while the maximum would be Rs 8 lakh.
Today, the apex court asked the special courts to also consider the fact that interim compensation awarded to minor victims of sexual assaults should not be misused or mis-utilised.
It directed that copies of the NALSA scheme as well as its order be sent to the registrars general of all high courts so that it could be circulated to the trial courts as well as the district or state legal services authority.
"We direct that wide publicity be given to the scheme as well as the order passed by us today on regular basis till rules are finalised by the central government," it said.
During the hearing, senior advocate Indira Jaising, assisting the court as an amicus curiae in the matter, said a meeting was convened by the NALSA on the issue of compensation for minor victims of sexual assaults.
NALSA told the bench that POCSO Act was to be amended and it was likely to be brought before the Parliament during the next session.
The bench then asked Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Pinky Anand, who was appearing for the Ministry of Women and Child Development, about it.
"Why don't you do it (frame rules under POCSO Act)," the bench asked, adding that the POCSO Act had come into force in 2012 but rules have not been framed even after six years.
The ASG told the bench that there was a proposal to amend the POCSO Act and the rules would be framed after the amendment was carried out.
Jaising told the apex court that the NALSA's victim compensation scheme would come into force from October 2. She said the NALSA scheme has caps on the amount to be awarded as compensation while POCSO Act does not prescribe any upper limit.
"The scheme has been finalised and it should be implemented by the states," she said.
The bench also observed that the purpose behind going into this aspect was to bring in parity in compensation given by different states.
The apex court had earlier said that the NALSA's scheme be modified to make it applicable to child victims of sexual assaults.
Earlier, the Centre had told the apex court that it was finding it difficult to get the cooperation of states on the issue relating to disbursal of compensation to the victims of sexual assault under the Nirbhaya Fund.
The Fund was announced by the Centre in 2013 after the December 16, 2012 gang rape and murder case in Delhi to support the initiatives on women's safety across the country. Several petitions were filed in the Supreme Court after the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder incident in Delhi raising concerns over safety and security of women.
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