A Critical Analysis of Section 357A CrPC (Now Section 396, BNSS)

Earlier victims were happened to be the most ignorable part in the criminal justice system. Their role was restricted as a mere witness in the criminal proceedings or as an informer of a criminal act happened. But in particular they had suffered the most due to a criminal activity. After the theory of ‘victimology’ came into light, the legal philosophers have started thinking about the hardships of the victims. Many jurists have suggested various ways to provide relief to the crime victims, among which compensation or financial assistance was supposed to be the appropriate one. In India, before 2008 compensation was given under Constitutional law for breach of fundamental rights, Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and through various others analogous legislation. But still it was not the statutory right of the victims to get compensation. In 2008, after the insertion of section 357A into the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, it has become the statutory right of the crime victims to get compensation. This section introduces state’s liability for providing compensation. This paper tries to critically analyse the provisions of sec. 357A, Cr. P.C. For this the paper has made an intensive study about the various judgments pronounced by the Supreme Court and various High Courts regarding victim compensation, the various guidelines issued by the Central Government, Compensation Schemes of various States. Though section 357A, Cr. P.C. is an outstanding step towards victim justice, it has yet to be added some effective implementation mechanisms of its provisions in order to become an exhaustive one.