SLP (Crl.) No. 5019/2012. Case: Satya Pal Anand Vs State of M.P.. Supreme Court (India)
| Case Number | SLP (Crl.) No. 5019/2012 |
| Judges | R.M. Lodha and Madan B. Lokur, JJ. |
| Issue | Indian Penal Code (IPC) - Sections 228A, 228A(2), 376, 376A, 376B, 376C, 376D |
| Citation | 2013 (10) SCALE 88 |
| Judgement Date | August 05, 2013 |
| Court | Supreme Court (India) |
Order:
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The inadequacies of interim compensation (or ex gratia) paid to two gang raped girls is the subject matter of this special leave petition. The order of the High Court of Madhya Pradesh records the submission made on behalf of the State Government that by way of an interim relief, payment of ` 2 lakhs has been granted to the two girl victims. The State Government also stated before the High Court that it would take care of the victims in future also. The girl victims were school going children belonging to poor families. They were gang raped by 16 persons. Since the issue in the special leave petition is confined to compensation to these victims, we are not inclined to undertake the larger issue relating to framing of uniform social security schemes by the States to such victims. We are informed that a group of Writ Petitions is already pending before this Court on this aspect.
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Coming back to the aspect of compensation, suffice it to say that amount of ` 2 Lakhs each to the two victims by way of compensation (the Petitioner, who appears in-person, states that the said payment is ex gratia) is, in our opinion, too low and grossly inadequate. The traumatic stress which a gang rape victim undergoes every moment of her life cannot be compensated by any amount. As a matter of fact, no amount of money can restore dignity and confidence of a rape victim. However, certain measures like adequate compensation, insurance and social security schemes may help in rehabilitating rape victim to some extent.
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Before the matter is considered further having regard to all relevant aspects and considerations, we are of the view that the two victims should be given compensation of ` 10 Lakhs each by the State. We, accordingly, direct the Respondent No. 1 (State of Madhya Pradesh through Principal Secretary, Department of Home Affairs) to make payment...
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