Compensation to Victims of Crime in India – An Overview
The administration of criminal justice remained generally unsatisfactory from the point of view of the victims of crime. The basic object of the Criminal Justice is to protect the society against crime and to punish the offender. However, Criminal Justice System does not show equal concern to the victims of crime, who have suffered loss or injury. It is flaw of our criminal law jurisprudence that victims of crime and the distress of their dependents of the victim do not attract the attention of law. In fact, the victim compensation is still the vanishing point of our criminal law. The remedies currently available under the law are limited, fragmented, uncoordinated and reactive. This is the lacunae in the system, which must be remedied by the legislature.
The present paper attempts to examine and evaluate the law governing victim compensation in India and the criminal justice system. The paper also accentuates the need for inclusive law to provide assistance to crime victims.
Key words- Victim, Compensation, Crime.