Supreme Court orders equal compensation for minor rape survivors

In a major decision on Wednesday, the Supreme Court ordered that minor survivors of rape or sexual assault will get equal compensation on par with women victims. The court extended the National Legal Services Authority’s (NALSA) compensation scheme to minor children, which was earlier provided to rape and sexual assault survivors.

The announcement was made by a three-judge Bench led by Justice Madan B. Lokur which directed that Special Judges under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act should disburse compensation to minor victims of sex abuse as per the NALSA’s ‘Compensation Scheme for Women Victims/Survivors of Sexual Assault/Other Crimes-2018’, reports The Hindu.

According to the verdict, the NALSA scheme would be made applicable to minor victims from October 2. This is done till the time Centre frames compensation guidelines under the POCSO. As per the NALSA scheme, uniform payment of Rs 5 lakh to a maximum Rs 10 lakh is granted for “loss of life” and to gangrape survivors in any part of the country. 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.

Also, for victims suffering a loss of a foetus by miscarriage as a result of assault or loss fertility, the NALSA scheme offers a compensation of Rs 2 lakh to 3 lakh. In case of acid attacks, the minimum compensation of R 7 lakh, while the upper limit would be R 8 lakh is mentioned. If the injury was more than 50 percent, a minimum compensation of Rs 5 lakh would be given, while the maximum would be Rs 8 lakh.

The order was laid after senior advocate Indira Jaising lent her expertise raised her voice against the dormant state of the Nirbhaya funds.

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