Criminology

CRIMINOLOGY, PENOLOGY AND VICTIMOLOGY
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The success and final outcome of this project required a lot of guidance and assistance from
many people and I am extremely fortunate to have got this all along the completion of my
project report. Whatever I have done is only due to such guidance and I would never forget to
thank them. I am thankful to and fortunate enough to get constant encouragement, support
and guidance throughout the completion.
I am very much thankful to Dr. Anju Berwal for her support and guidance, without which I
would not have been able to accomplish this project work.
I am thankful to my department, University Institute of Legal Studies, Panjab University,
Chandigarh, for providing such an expansive library which provided me all the relevant
material required for this project.
I also express my gratitude to the library staff for their help in the searching of the books and
whatever other help I needed.
I am also thankful to my friends who helped me in collection of material.
Lastly and most importantly, I would like to thank my parents and the almighty for moral
support and constant supervision.
AMANINDER JEET KAUR
VICTIMIZATION AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM 1

TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CASES ................................................................................................................... 3

TABLE OF ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................................... 4
1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................ 6
2. APPROACH TO VICTIM .............................................................................................. 9
2.1 DEFINITION OF VICTIM ......................................................................................... 9
2.2 CLASSIFICATION OF VICTIMS ........................................................................... 12
3. CONCEPT OF VICTIMIZATION .............................................................................. 14
3.1 VICTIMIZATION AND ITS EFFECTS: ................................................................. 14
3.2 KINDS OF VICTIMIZATION ................................................................................. 15
3.3 THEORIES OF VICTIMIZATION: ......................................................................... 16
3.4 INSTANCES OF VICTIMIZATION ....................................................................... 19
4. RESTORATIVE JUSTICE: THEORY AND PRACTICE ........................................ 26
5. COMPENSATION TO VICTIMS OF CRIME .......................................................... 33
5.1 LEGISLATIVE PROVISIONS................................................................................. 33
5.2 JUSTICE MALIMATH COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING
VICTIMS’ RIGHTS ............................................................................................................. 35
5.3 JUDICIAL OBSERVATIONS ON VICTIMS’ PLIGHTS ...................................... 36
5.4 COMPENSATORY JURISPRUDENCE EVOLVED BY THE SUPREME
COURT.. .............................................................................................................................. 37
5.5 BROAD GUIDELINES OF THE SUPREME COURT FOR THE ASSISTANCE
TO THE RAPE VICTIMS ................................................................................................... 37
6. CURRENT SITUATION OF VICTIMS OF CRIME IN INDIA AT EACH STAGE
OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE PROCESS................................................................................. 41
6.1 AFFIRMATIVE ACTION BY THE HIGHER JUDICIARY .................................. 42
6.2 RECOMMENDATIONS OF COMMISSIONS AND COMMITTEES ON JUSTICE
TO VICTIMS IN INDIA...................................................................................................... 44
6.3 RECENT LAWS TO CARE FOR AND PROTECT SPECIAL CATEGORIES OF
VICTIMS ............................................................................................................................. 45
7. CHALLENGES AND PROPOSAL FOR MEASURES FOR VICTIMS IN
INDIA…. ................................................................................................................................. 48
8. CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................... 53
BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................................................................. 55

TABLE OF CASES
1. Balraj vs. State of U. P 42

2. Bodhisattwa Gautam v. Subhra Chakraborty 39
3. Chairman, Railway Board and Others v. Mrs. Chandrima Das 37
4. D.K. Basu v. State of West Bengal 22
5. Delhi Domestic Working Women’s Forum v. Union of India 38
6. Giani Ram vs. State of Haryana 42
7. Hari Singh v. Sukhbir Singh 37
8. Hussainara v. Home Secy. 24
9. Mohd. Zahid v. Govt. Of NCT of Delhi 22
10. Nilabati Behara v. State of Orissa 37
11. R v Sampson 7
12. Ramachandra Rao v. State of Karnataka 54
13. Rudal Shah v. State of Bihar 38
14. Saheli, a Woman’s Resources Center through Mrs. Nalini Bhanot v. Commissioner of
Police, Delhi Police 22
15. Smt. Nilabati Behera Alias Lalit ... vs State Of Orissa And Ors 22
16. State of Gujarat v. High Court of Gujarat 37
17. State of Punjab v. Gurmit Singh 23
18. Sukhdev Singh vs. State of Punjab 42
19. Sunil Batra v. State of Maharashtra 25
20. Tata Steel Ltd. v. M/S Atma Tube Products Ltd. & Ors 39
21. Unni Krishnan, J.P. And Ors. Etc. ... vs State Of Andhra Pradesh And Ors 20

TABLE OF ABBREVIATIONS
1. AC- Appeals Chamber

2. AIR- All India Reporter
3. AP-Andhra Pradesh
4. Art.- Article
5. Bom.- Bombay
6. CJ.-Chief Justice
7. Cr.P.C.- Code of Criminal Procedure
8. CriLJ- Criminal Law Journal
9. Edn.,-Edition
10. IPC- Indian Penal Code
11. J.- Justice
12. Ker.-Kerala
13. MP-Madhya Pradesh
14. P.- Page
15. NCVS- National Crime Victimization Survey
16. SC- Supreme Court
17. SCALE- Supreme Court Almanac
18. SCC- Supreme Court Cases
19. SCJ- Supreme Court Journal
20. SCR-Supreme Court Reporter
21. Sec.- Section
22. UN- United Nations
23. UP-Uttar Pradesh
24. US- United States
25. V.- Versus
26. Vol.- Volume

We need to keep making our streets safer and our criminal justice system fairer -our
homelands more secure our world more peaceful and sustainable for the next generation.
You have young men of colour in many communities who are more likely to end up in jail or
in the criminal justice system than they are in a good job or in college. And, you know, part
of my job, that I can do, I think, without any potential conflicts, is to get at those root causes.
– Barack Obama
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
─ Martin Luther King, Jr.
Our current criminal justice system has no provision for restorative justice, in which an
offender confronts the damage they have done and tries to make it right for the people they
have harmed. [...] Instead, our system of “corrections” is about arm’s-length revenge and
retribution, all day and all night.
─Piper Kerman
Crime is a violation of people and relationships. It creates obligations to make things right.
Justice involves the victim, the offender and the community in search for solutions which
promote repair, reconciliation and reassurance.
─Howard Zehr
For too long, the law has centered its attention more on the rights of criminal than on the
victims of the crime. It is high time, we reverse the trend and put the highest priority on the
victims and potential victims.
─Gerald R Ford
People by and large have lost confidence in the criminal justice system...Victims feel ignored
and are crying for attention and justice.
─Justice V.S. Malimath

1. INTRODUCTION
Justice is the concept of moral rightness based on ethics, rationality, law, equality. The
concept of justice differs in every culture. For some people it is equality, for some it is
morality and foe some it is fairness. Justice is the results of the fair and proper administration
of law. The basic aim or the objective of criminal justice system is to provide safeguard
against criminals and law breakers. It is the fairness in the protection of rights and
punishment of wrongs. At the early stage there was no concept of justice. And at that time
there were also a few conflicts among the peoples. They were living in the peaceful society.
At that time the head of the state was everything. The conflicts were solved by the head of the
state. Slowly as the population raised the conflicts were also raised. Finally this leads to the
emergence of the concepts of justice. “Justice consists not in being natural between right and
wrong, but in finding out the right and upholding it, wherever found against the wrong1.”
Administration of justice is a comprehensive term which is operated on the persons suspected

of crime. Criminal law in its wider sense consists of both procedural and substantive law.
Administration of justice with reference to criminal law is operated to bring the substantive
law of crime which refers to the rule of law governing detection, investigation, apprehension,
interviewing, and trial of persons who is suspected of crime. It is not limited to the person
suspected but also bears responsibility of those who work within their rules. The main
objective of administration of justice is that fair trial and impartial justice is provided to the
person and also punishment to the wrongdoer.
The personnel, activity and structure of the justice system - courts and police - in the
detection, investigation, apprehension, interviewing and trial of persons suspected of crime.
In R v Sampson2, Justice Borins had before him an application to exclude evidence obtained
pursuant to illegal wiretapping. Therefore, the defence alleged, to allow the tainted evidence
would bring the administration of justice into disrepute.
“Administration of justice, with particular reference to the criminal law, is a compendious

term that stands for all the complexes of activity that operate to bring the substantive law of
crime to bear, or to keep it from coming to bear, on persons who are suspected of having
committed crimes. It refers to the rules of law that govern the detection, investigation,
1
Criminal victimization & justice administration in India, International Journal of Law.
2
371 US 75 (1962).

apprehension, interviewing and trial of persons suspected of crime and those persons whose
responsibility it is to work within these rules. The administration of justice is not confined to
the courts; it encompasses officers of the law and others whose duties are necessary to ensure
that the courts function effectively. The concern of the administration of justice is the fair,
just and impartial upholding of rights, and punishment of wrongs, according to the rule of
law.”
Crime affects the life of the individuals and victim’s families. It causes serious physical and
psychological injuries to the victim and victim’s family. Sometimes due to the consequences
of the crime victim suffer financial loss. They feel isolated from the society and want to live
alone. For example a victim always feel afraid to walk into darkness alone than a non-victim
person. They fear of what happened with him, which always happened to be an abstract on
his path to move forward or start a new journey. His past always reminds him what happen
with him.
Victims of crime are important players in criminal justice administration both as

complainant/informant and as witness for the police/prosecution. Without the cooperation of
the victim in reporting crime, furnishing evidence, identifying the offender and acting as a
witness in court, most crime would remain unpunished and unknown. The victim of a crime
often becomes the victim of criminal justice system as well as once the victim reports his
victimization to the police- the gateway to the criminal justice system- he routinely faces
postponements, delays, rescheduling and other frustrations.
Having suffered primary victimizations, the victims are often also subjected to secondary
victimization from tiresome court proceedings and the society as a whole. Even at the
investigation and trial stage of the case, the victim may have to suffer institutionalized
victimization at the hands of the police and investigating personnel. The procedure of the
criminal justice system shows little or no concern for the mental torture and suffering of the
victim and concentrates more on the prosecution of the offender.
Despite the system being heavily dependent on the victim, criminal justice has been
concerned with the offender and his interests almost subordinating or disregarding the
interests of victim. The criminal justice system in India is excessively loaded in favour of the
accused. The main principle on which the system of legal jurisprudence is based is to let
ninety nine persons get away free than to 199 have even one innocent man punished. This

tenet, while preventing injustice to one innocent, denies justice to ninety nine victims of
crime.
The attitude began to change as the discipline of victimology came onto its own. The past
few decades have witnessed a revolution in the way society deals with the victims of crime.
Also, there has been a significant change in the mind of the judiciary about the human rights
of victims. The concern of the court about the need to have a law on compensation or a
comprehensive law on victim justice has been reflected in their judgments. The higher courts
have played a dominant role in assuring compensatory justice to the victims of the crime.3
3
https://www.wisdomcrux.lawtimesjournal.in/index.php/2017/04/18/criminal-victimization-justice-
administration-india/. (visited on 30th March, 2019).

2. APPROACH TO VICTIM
2.1 DEFINITION OF VICTIM
The term “victim” is often one of moral approbation lacking descriptive precision in respect
of actual human behaviour. It implies more than the existence of an injured party, in that
innocence or blamelessness is suggested as well as a moral claim to a compassionate
response from others. The etymological meaning of phrase suggests that it would mean or
will encompass:
i. Anyone suffering physical, emotional or financial harm as a direct result of a crime.
ii. Spouses and children of the person who has suffered.
iii. Parents, foster parents, siblings, guardians or other custodians of minor victims,
mentally or physically incapacitated victims, or victims of homicide.
Oxford Dictionary of Current English defines the ‘Victim’: “A person or thing injured or
destroyed in pursuit of an object, in gratification of a passion, etc. or as a result of event or
circumstances (the victim of disease, of a road accident).”
The term ‘Victim’ is defined in Oxford English dictionary as: “Victim is a person who is
put to death or subjected to misfortune by another; one who suffers severely in body or
property through cruel or oppressive treatment: one who is destined to suffer oppressive or
destructive agency: one who perishes or suffers in health etc. from some enterprise or pursuit
voluntarily undertaken.”
As per Collins English Dictionary ‘Victim’ means: “A person or thing that suffers harm,
death etc from another or from some adverse act, circumstance etc.”
According to New Webster's Dictionary ‘Victim’ means: “A person destroyed, sacrificed or

injured by another or by some condition or agency one that is cheated or duped a living being
scarified to some deity, or in the performance of a religious rite”.
As per Macmillan dictionary ‘Victim’: Someone who has been harmed injured or killed as
the result of a crime".
Victim under The UN Declaration on Justice to Victims of Crimes and Victims of Abuse
of Power, 1985’ under Article 1 and 2:

 Article 1.- “Victims" means persons who, individually or collectively, have suffered
harm, including physical or mental injury, emotional suffering, economic loss or
substantial impairment of their fundamental rights, through acts or omissions that are
in violation of criminal laws operative within Member States, including those laws
proscribing criminal abuse of power.
 Article 2. – “A person may be considered a ‘Victim’, under this Declaration,
regardless of whether the perpetrator is identified, apprehended, prosecuted or
convicted and regardless of the familial relationship between the perpetrator and the
victim.” The term "victim" also includes, where appropriate, the immediate family or
dependants of the direct victim and persons who have suffered harm in intervening to
assist victims in distress or to prevent victimization.
United Nations Convention on Justice and Support for Victims of Crime and Abuse of
Power defines the victims in Article 1 that Victim means a natural person who has suffered
harm which may be physical or mental injury, emotional suffering or economic loss or
violation of the fundamental rights which have been identified under the scope. Victim
includes individual victim or collective victims. In clause 2nd, a person is also to be
considered as a victim regardless of whether the crime is reported to th police, regardless of
whether a perpetrator is identified, apprehended, prosecuted or convicted and regardless of
the familial relationship between the perpetrator and the victim. The term ‘victim’ also
includes wherever appropriate the immediate family, dependants or the direct victims and
persons who have suffered in intervening to assist victims in distress or to prevent
victimization.
Hence a very broad definition has been given under the Convention. Only natural person is to
be considered victim. Under the Article 2 of the Convention, the scope of the victimization
has been included. It says that a natural person is victimized by acts or omissions that:
(a) Are violations if criminal laws of state parties or abuse of power;

(b) Are acts of terrorism, and others as defined in international instruments relevant to
terrorism, intended to cause death or serious bodily harm to civilians or non-
combatants, or damage to property, when the purpose of such an act, by its nature or
context, is to intimidate a population, or to compel a government or an international
organization to do or abstain from doing an act.

International Criminal Court Statute defines ‘Victim” as: “Natural persons who have
suffered harm as a result of the commission of any crime within the jurisdiction of the ICC.
The term include “legal entities that have sustained direct harm to any of their property,
which is dedicated to religion, education, art or science or charitable purposes, and to their
historic monuments, hospitals and other places and objects for humanitarian purposes.”
The Department of Justice Canada defines a ‘Victim’ as: “Any person who is harmed,
killed, or suffering as a result of an accidental or intentional act or situation. The victim may
experience suffering and loss, e.g. physical, psychological, emotional, financial, social,
medical, and others.” The important points of this definition include:
 Any person - anyone can become a victim and there may be one victim or many
victims from any situation.
 Harmed, killed or suffering - there can be primary, secondary or tertiary victims
involved in any situation. 4
Primary victims include those directly involved in the critical event - the dead, the injured
and their loved ones. Secondary victims include those who are in some way observers of
immediate traumatic effects on primary victims - eyewitnesses, rescuers, and converging
rescuers. Tertiary victims include those removed from the critical event but who are
impacted through encountering a primary or secondary victim - immediate neighbours,
community members, and former victims. Accidental or intentional act or situation –
victimization may result from acts or situations which may or may not be a crime and may or
may not have a perpetrator.
In view of the above definitions, the term “victim of crime” can thus be defined as a person
who has suffered injuries and material losses as a result of breach of criminal law. Therefore,
a victim is a person who is murdered, assaulted, raped, robbed or whose property is
destroyed. The Indian Penal Code of 1860 defines such act as offences against person,
property and reputation and prescribed punishments thereof. However in 2008 by The
Amendment of the Criminal Procedure Code the statutory attempt of the definition of
victim was made as follows u/s Sec.2 (wa) Cr.P.C. 1973 defines the term ‘Victims: “Means a
person who has suffered any loss or injury caused by reason of the act or omission for which
4
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.429.8305&rep=rep1&type=pdf (visited on 31 st
March, 2019).

the accused person has been charged and the expression ‘Victim’ includes his or her guardian
or legal heir.”
2.2 CLASSIFICATION OF VICTIMS
Different criminologists have given different types of victims on the basis of different
criteria.
Mendelsohn has given six types of victims according to the degree of their contribution guilt
in crime. These are:
i. Completely innocent victims (e.g. small infants/children who are raped or murdered
or kidnapped without their realising what is being done to them).
ii. Victims with minor guilt (such as pregnant women who go to quacks for abortion
and pay for it with their lives).
iii. Victims as guilt offenders.
iv. Victims more guilty than offenders (such as those who provoke others to commit
crime).
v. The most guilty type of victims who commit crimes against others and get
harmed or killed themselves (e.g. a rapist who gets killed by his victim who acts in
self-defence).
vi. Simulating (or pretending) victims (such as paranoids, hysterical and senile persons)
who give evidence in the courts in order to obtain sentence against an accused person.
Walter Reckless (1961) has talked of two types of victims: reporting and non-reporting
victims. The latter is on who is unwilling to report because he/she fears reprisals or social
consequences of doing so; the former is one who does not bother for the consequences of
reporting his victimization but is rather interested in getting the offender punished or getting
some relief for his suffering.
Wolfgang (1967) has outlined five types of victimization:
i. primary victimization, involving personalised or individual victims

ii. secondary victimization, where the victim is an impersonal target of the offender
(e.g. a thief in a department store, a person travelling without ticket on a roadways
bus, etc.)
iii. tertiary victimisation, which affects the public or administration of society.

iv. Mutual victimisation, which concerns those victims who themselves are offenders
in a given mutually consensual act (e.g. adultery).
v. No victimisation, which is an act of negligible significance where there isno
immediate recognizable harm.
Von Hentig has given four types of victims:
i. Victims whose injury may be the price of a greater pain, e.g., in abortion.
ii. Victims who bring detrimental result partly by their own concurrent effort; e.g.,
prostitutes.
iii. Victims who provoke or instigate the offence, e.g., by challenging the opponent to
kill him if he can and in an emotional state of mind, the opponent accepts the
challenge and attacks.
iv. Victims who desire the injury.

3. CONCEPT OF VICTIMIZATION
The term “victimization” refers to a process whereby an external force comes in contact with
a person, rendering that person to feel pain, suffering, sometimes causing injury, either of
which can be short-lived or which might cause extended suffering and sometimes death. That
force can be legal or illegal, natural or manmade, biological or chemical, expected or
unexpected, social or individual, civil or uncivil, intended or unintended; the list of
possibilities is endless.
The study of victimization and its victims is a part of a relatively new science. A Romanian
lawyer, Benjamin Mendelsohn, first coined the word victimology in 1947, and promoted its
concept as the science of “victimity”, the study of all victims. He referred to his concept as
“general victimology” to distinguish it from “crime victimology”, which is only concerned
with crime victimization. He also proposed the establishment of a society of general
victimology, the establishment of victimological research institutes, victim departments in all
national governments, a journal of general victimology, the creation of victim clinics and
national societies in each country.
The noun "victimization" has two meanings, "an act that exploits or victimizes someone" and
"adversity resulting from being made a victim". Despite these two descriptions of the same
word, both illustrate the problem of victimization. As a method of countering the problem of
crime, and of dealing with the numerous victims left in their wake, criminologists turn to the
study of victims and their relationship to the criminal act. While caring and understanding the
pain and anguish of the victim and their circle of social influence is of essential, as is
providing treatment and counseling; criminologists now view the role of the victim in the
criminal process as imperative to understanding the crime itself. Studying and researching
victimology helps in gaining a better understanding of both the victim, as well as the
criminal, and how the crime may have been precipitated.
3.1 VICTIMIZATION AND ITS EFFECTS:
Victimization is a highly complex process encompassing a number of possible elements.

The first element comprises whatever interaction may have taken place between offender
and ‘victim’ during the commission of the offence, plus any after effects arsising from this
interaction or the offence itself.

The second element encompasses ‘the victim’s reaction to the offence, including any change
in self-perception that may result from it, plus any formal response that he/she may chose to
make to it.
The third element consists of any further interactions that may take place between the victim
and others including the various criminal justice agencies with whom he/she may come into
contact as a result of this response.
3.2 KINDS OF VICTIMIZATION
The impact of the crime on the victim can be categorised as follows:
 PRIMARY VICTIMIZATION
Primary victimization relates to the direct effects of a crime. For instance, if you’re mugged,
you might experience injuries that require medical help or even hospitalization. If you’re
employed in a field where getting mugged or robbed again is statistically more likely to occur
than in other fields, you may find that following the mugging, you become so gun shy that
you can no longer work, particularly if the crime occurred in the course of doing your job. If
you lose money as a result, it may take you a while to get back on your feet financially.
Primary victimization is the direct fallout from what happened to you.
 SECONDARY VICTIMIZATION
Secondary victimization refers to the victimization that occurs not as a direct result of the
criminal act but through the response of institutions and individuals to the victim.
Institutionalized secondary victimization is most apparent within the criminal justice system.
At times it may amount to a complete denial of human rights to victims from particular
cultural groups, classes or a particular gender, through a refusal to recognize their experience
as criminal victimization. It may result from intrusive or inappropriate conduct by police or
other criminal justice personnel. More subtly, the whole process of criminal investigation and
trial may cause secondary victimization, from investigation, through decisions on whether or
not to prosecute, the trial itself and the sentencing of the offender, to his or her eventual
release. Secondary victimization through the process of criminal justice may occur because of
difficulties in balancing the rights of the victim against the rights of the accused or the
offender. More normally, however, it occurs because those responsible for ordering criminal

justice processes and procedures do so without taking into account the perspective of the
victim.
Secondary victimization can involve much of the same trauma and effects as primary
victimization, but its distinction is that it’s typically caused by external, not internal, stimuli.
Primary victimization is mostly about how you deal with the crime, whereas secondary
victimization relates to how those around you deal with it. For example, if you’re maimed as
the result of the crime, others might be turned off or alarmed by your appearance. If your job
depends on your appearance, you might lose it.
 RE-VICTIMIZATION
Crime is not distributed randomly. According to a recent estimate, based on data from the
British Crime Survey, 44% of all crime is concentrated on 4% of victims, the proportion of
victims who will be a victim of a similar offence within a year of the event. Some of the
repeat victimization is due to the victim living or being associated with the offender. Wife
battering tends to happen more than once to the same victim who continues to live with the
same man. This is also true of sexual incidents. Some of the repeat victimization in property
offences is due to the location of the victim or their residence. Those who live close to a
concentration of potential offenders in residences that are unprotected are particularly at risk
of repeat victimization. Repeat victimization is disillusioning to victims who report their
experience to the police and the criminal justice system because they were not protected.
Being victimized a second time increases the psychological trauma of the event.
 SELF VICTIMIZATION
In this category person himself commits such act which result in his own victimization we
can say up to certain extent that it can be included in repeat victimization only as it result
from wrong persons company, wrong habit, etc.5
3.3 THEORIES OF VICTIMIZATION:
For the purpose of understanding and researching victimology, four theories have been
developed: victim precipitation theory, the lifestyle theory, deviant place theory, and the
routine activities theory.6
5
http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/192360/6/chapter%202.pdf. (visited on 1 st April, 2019).

 THE VICTIM PRECIPITATION THEORY
The first of these, the victim precipitation theory, views victimology from the standpoint that
the victims themselves may actually initiate, either passively or actively, the criminal act that
ultimately leads to injury or death. During passive precipitation, the victim unconsciously
exhibits behaviours or characteristics that instigate or encourage the attack. Siegel lists job
promotions, job status, successes, love interests, and the like as examples of these
unconscious behaviours and characteristics. Additionally, political activists, minority groups,
those of different sexual orientations, and other individuals pursuing alternate lifestyles may
also find themselves as targets of violence due to the inadvertent threat they pose to certain
individuals of power.
Essentially, the victim precipitation theory focuses on the idea that passive precipitation of
violence is a result of a power struggle. A politician may feel threatened by an activist group
leader because his action draws attention to negative aspects of his personality and actions
that will, or may cause, a loss of power in society. This sort of passive precipitation may also
be present when the victim is not even aware of the existence of the attacker.
In this instance a new employee may push up the corporate ranks quickly, threatening long-
time employees; or a trans-sexual may be the victim of crime due to their existence
"threatening" the beliefs and/or ideas of another individual or group of individuals. The latter
is a good example of a hate crime, in which victims are often unaware of the individuals that
perpetrate the crime, yet their actions and/or characteristics trigger the crime.
Active precipitation, on the other hand, is the opposite of the afore-described. Victimization
under this theory occurs through the threatening or provocative actions of the victim. One of
the most controversial points of this theory is the idea that women who are raped actively
contributed in some way, either through provocative dress, a relationship, or suggested
consent of intimacy. Because of this viewpoint, it is hard to convict an accused rapist who has
had some form of relationship with the accused, or one that was behaving provocatively or
suggestively. When dealing with this theory we must ask ourselves whether or not it is really
okay to blame the occurrence of a crime on the victim. This is especially true in cases of rape
when flirtation may be present, yet there is no consent to sexual intercourse.
 THE LIFESTYLE THEORY
6
https://soapboxie.com/government/The-Four-Theories-of-Victimization (visited on 1st April, 2019).

The next theory is the lifestyle theory. This theory purports that individuals are targeted based
on their lifestyle choices, and that these lifestyle choices expose them to criminal offenders,
and situations in which crimes may be committed. Examples of some lifestyle choices
indicated by this theory include going out at night alone, living in "bad" parts of town,
associating with known felons, being promiscuous, excessive alcohol use, and doing drugs.
In addition to theorizing that victimization is not random, but rather a part of the lifestyle the
victims pursues, the lifestyle theory cites research that victims "share personality traits also
commonly found in law violators, namely impulsivity and low self control". This previous
statement was discussed in a psychology journal by Jared Dempsey, Gary Fireman, and
Eugene Wang, in which they note the correlation between victims and the perpetrators of
crimes, both exhibiting impulsive and antisocial-like behaviours. These behaviours may
contribute to their victimization since they cause the individual to put themselves at higher
risk for victimization than their more conservative lifestyle counterparts.
 DEVIANT PLACE THEORY
The deviant place theory states that greater exposure to dangerous places makes an individual
more likely to become the victim of a crime. Unlike the victim precipitation theory, the
victims do not influence the crime by actively or passively encouraging it, but rather are
victimized as a result of being in "bad" areas. In order to lower the chance that one will
become the victim of a crime, the individual should avoid the "bad" areas of town where
crime rates are high. For example, South Central Los Angeles is notorious for its gangs, and
high crime rate. The more an individual ventures into South Central, the more likely they are
to become the victim of a crime there. Sociologist William Julius Wilson discusses the social
and economic inequality that finds more minorities in the victim seat, since minorities are
more commonly from low income households that are unable to move away from crime-
ridden areas than their caucasian peers are. Moreover, the deviant place theory suggests that
taking safety precautions in these areas may be of little use since it is the neighbourhood, and
not the lifestyle choices, that affect victimization. In a nutshell, if a neighbourhood is
"deviant," the only way to lower your risk of victimization is to leave the neighbourhood for
a less deviant, low crime rate area.
 ROUTINE ACTIVITY THEORY

Lastly, the routine activity theory explains the rate of victimization through a set of situations
that reflect the routines of typical individuals.
1. The availability of suitable targets,
2. The absence of capable guardians, and
3. The presence of motivated offenders.
According to this theory, the presence of one or more of these factors creates a higher risk of
victimization. For example, leaving one's home during vacation creates a suitable target.
Leaving a home for vacation in an urban area creates an even greater risk; and leaving one's
home on vacation in an urban area in which there is a high number of teenage boys, known
felons, or other "motivated offenders" creates an even higher risk for victimization.
Communities with ample police protection, alarms and other security devices, and
community watch teams, lower their risk by creating guardianship, which is noted under this
theory to reduce crime rates.
3.4 INSTANCES OF VICTIMIZATION

 JUVENILE VICTIMIZATION
Juvenile Victimization is a basic concept in which a child below the age of eighteen suffer
crime like molestation, physical and mental abuse, sexual harassment and others heinous
crime which effect the life of the victim. To rehabilitation of juvenile victims, we need to
understand their mental conditions as well as their perspective regarding their problems and
make a friendly and healthy environment around them so that they can feel safe and
comfortable, willing to share their actual problem which makes their rehabilitation better. For
example, a victim of sexual harassment is more confidential and introvert in nature because
what happen with him/her is heinous crime which not only affect him mentally but also
physically. His/her broke out and find themselves surrounding by fear and lost their beliefs in
humanity. To recover from that situation, they need special care and a trust worthy
environment to share their problem and come up with it.
The National Crime Victimization Survey reported that the average annual rate of violent
crime continues to be highest among youth between the age of 16 and 19 who were
victimized at a rate of 55.6 per 1000 persons. To secure the rights of the children in India and
protect from abuses and victimization or to empower children to give them education which

is the basic tool to protect themselves given to them as their fundamental rights in where
supreme court decision to make article 21-A as a fundamental rights. To give free and
compulsory primary education is the right of every child between the ages of 6 to 14. Article
21-A state that “The state shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the
age 6 to 14 in such manner as the state may by law determine” In order to secure the rights of
children in India and to protect them from abusing, victimization or empower them,
education must be provided them as their fundamental right. In Unnikrishnan’s Case7 during
1993, Supreme Court made article 21-A to make education a fundamental right of children.
The article clearly states that “The state shall provide free and compulsory education to all
children of age of 6 to 14 year in such manner as the state may by law determine”. To insure
the implementation of these provisions and make consonance between government policies
and provisions of constitution in India a commission was made in March 2007. India also
signed the United Nation’s Convention on the Rights of the Children in 1992 in order to
secure the rights of children and to promote it globally and act was taken as the basic and
necessary step towards the protection of rights of children.8
 VICTIMIZATION OF WOMEN
During the past few decades, victimization of women has increased drastically and reason
behind this can be lack of education and low mentality of people. In every 2 minutes a
woman suffered sexual harassment. Many popular faces like Lady Gaga, Oprah Winfrey
admit that they have suffered sexual harassment during childhood but due to fear and lack of
education, they were not strong enough to stand up against it. Victimization of women
includes abusing, sexual harassment, mental or physical torture killing them for dowry and
domestic violence. All these crimes are mostly faced by a woman in India. Domestic violence
means a partner abuses another partner to gain his self-ambitions. According to the National
Centre for Injury Prevention and Control, women experience about 4.8 million intimate
partner-related physical assaults and rapes every year. According to the National Crime
Victimization Survey, 232,960 women in the U.S. were raped or sexually assaulted in 2006.
That is more than 600 women every day. To protect the rights of women against domestic
violence a major achievement in form of The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence
Act 2005 was passed in parliament after a long struggle. This can be taken as a milestone in
the way to protect women against domestic violence. Under this act, the first time definition
7
Unni Krishnan, J.P. And Ors. Etc. ... vs State Of Andhra Pradesh And Ors., 1993 SCR (1) 594.
8
http://jurip.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Gajendra-Misher.pdf (visited on 31st March, 2019).

of domestic violence was described, which includes physical, sexual, verbal and emotional
abuse. Victim has right to get free legal aid and Relief and residence for safety and violation
of order passed by protection officer by the respondent has resulted into 1 year imprisonment
or 20,000 rupees or both. To protect women from victimization in India many strict law has
been made by the parliament to empowerment of women. To lead this efforts state legislature
and local bodies were ordered to provide 33% reservation seats to encourage women power.
In recently Gujarat government made a law to give 33% reservation to women in local police
which was a historical step towards women empowerment. Many others government project
like ‘BETI BACHAO’ is running for women empowerment.
 VICTIMIZATION OF DISABLED PERSONS
Disable persons are more victimized than a normal person because of their disabilities.
People always take advantage of their disabilities to fulfil their self- motive. Disability in
constitution includes cognitive disabilities (includes intellectual, development and severe
learning disabilities) physical disabilities, sensory disabilities (includes blind, deaf etc) and
psychiatric disabilities (disorder and mental illness). According to NCVS in 2012 for both
male and female rate of violent crime was greater for those with disabilities than the rate for
those without disabilities. The rate for males with disabilities was 59 per 1000 compared to
25.1 per 1000 for males without disabilities while the rat was 61.8 per 1000 for females
without disabilities. To protect the rights of disabled persons, in 1992 India adopted “The
Proclamation on The full Participation and Equality of People with Disabilities in Asian and
Pacific Region”. As a signatory of this proclamation India’s ministry of law justice and
company affairs passed an act on January 1, 1996 named “THE PERSON WITH
DISABILITES ACT 1995”. According to this act child below 18 years come under this act. It
also includes blindness, low vision, leprosy-cured hearing impairment, mental disorder and
mental illness. Two committees were formed under this act one is Central Coordination
committee and second is Central Executive Committee. Later in 2007 India signed U.N.
Convention on Rights of Person with Disabilities to work further to protect the rights of
disable person. To compete with this convention provision and based on the report of ‘Sudha
kaul Committee’ Government brought 119 amendment to the rights of person with
disabilities 2014 and will replace the person with disabilities act 1995 but bill is still pending
in Rajya Sabha.9
9
Supra Note 4.

 VICTIMS OF CUSTODIAL CRIMES
“Torture of human being by another human being is essentially an instrument to impose the
will of the ‘strong’ over the ‘weak’ by suffering...Torture is a wound in the soul so painful
that sometimes you can almost touch it, but it also so intangible that there is no way to heal it.
Torture is despair and fear and rage and hate.10 Therefore, the constitutional right of a victim
of custodial crime to receive compensation was reiterated by the Supreme Court in D.K. Basu
and Nilabati11 cases. The Supreme Court further held in D.K. Basu that “The award for
compensation in public law jurisdiction is also without prejudice to any other action like civil
suit for damages which is lawfully available to the victim or the heirs of the deceased victim
with respect to the same matter for the tortuous act committed by the functionaries of the
State...the relief to redress the wrong for the established invasion of the fundamental rights of
the citizen, under the public law jurisprudence is, thus addition to the traditional remedies and
not in derogation of them.”
In Saheli12 case, Supreme Court awarded a sum of Rs. 75000 as compensation, holding that
the victim died due to beating by the officer-in-charge of the police station, the victim’s
mother is entitled to damages for the death of her son. In another case 13, the Supreme Court
allowed the appeal and set aside the conviction and sentence of the appellant and acquitted
him. Further, the Court said that since the appellant has been made a victim of prolonged
illegal incarceration by the police personnel, the court directed the Delhi Government to pay
him a sum of Rs. 50000 as compensation.
There is no wrong without remedy (Ubi Jus Ibi Remedium). The law wills that in every case
where a man is wronged and damaged he must have a remedy. A mere declaration of
invalidity of an action or finding of custodial violence or death in a lock-up, does not by itself
provide any meaningful remedy to a person whose fundamental right to life has been
infringed. Much more needs to be done.
The Supreme Court, therefore, has wisely suggested, “The Courts are also required to have a
change in their outlook and attitude, particularly in cases involving custodial crimes and they
should exhibit more sensitivity and adopt a realistic rather than a narrow technical approach,
10
D.K. Basu v. State of West Bengal, AIR 1997 SC 610.
11
Smt. Nilabati Behera Alias Lalit ... vs State Of Orissa And Ors, 1993 SCR (2) 581.
12
Saheli, a Woman’s Resources Center through Mrs. Nalini Bhanot v. Commissioner of Police, Delhi Police,
AIR 1990 SC 513.
13
Mohd. Zahid v. Govt. Of NCT of Delhi, AIR 1998 SC 2023.

while dealing with the cases of custodial crime so far as possible within their powers, the
guilty should not escape so that the victim of crime has satisfaction that ultimately the
Majesty of Law has prevailed.14
 POOR VICTIMS OF USES AND ABUSES OF CRIMINAL LAW
The justice system in India, which is based on adversarial model of common law, is known
for being cumbersome, expensive and cumulatively disastrous. The poor can never reach the
temple of justice because of the heavy cost of its process and the mystique of legal ethos. The
hierarchy of courts, with appeals after appeals puts legal justice beyond the reach of the
poor.15 Even after the Supreme Court repeated assertions that his Court will stand first for the
poorest of poor, still it is a hard reality that poor victims are not in a position to afford costlier
services of the lawyers. Even though Legal Services Act provides free legal aid to the
indigent person, but it is far from the reality. Therefore, making the legal process costlier is
an indirect denial of justice to the people and this hits hard the lowest of the low in society.
The Penal Code is the general penal law of the country and is the sole authority in respect to
the general conditions of liability, the definition of specific offences and conditions of
exemptions from criminal liability. It represents the traditional and conventional crimes
which are rooted in time and customs. A careful perusal of the provisions of the Code would
reveal that it is undoubtedly a manifestation of the will of the dominant class determined by
the economic and political motives. It makes a broad classification of the crimes against
property, persons and the state. Out of total 511 sections and over in the Code, 85 sections
have been devoted to offences against property and 33 sections of the offences relating to the
documents and property-marks respectively to protect and safeguard the interests of the elite.
But not even a single section is enacted to take care of the poor and the weak. For instance,
the man who treats a generous benefactor with gross inattitude and insolence deserves more
reprehension than the man who aimed a blow in passion and breaks a window in a frolic, but
the law punishes for assault and mischief and not for ingratitude. Likewise, the rich man who
refuses a mouthful rice to save a fellow creature from death is far worse man and criminal
than the starving man (wretch) who snatches and devours the rice, but the law punishes later
for theft and not the former for hardheartedness and killing the starving man.
14
State of Punjab v. Gurmit Singh, (1996) 2 SCC 384.
15
K.D. Gaur, Criminal Law and Criminology, Deep and Deep Publications, 2000.

In Hussainara Case16, the Supreme Court found that in the state of bihar a large number of
under-trial prisoners-men and women were kept behind the prison bars awaiting trial in
courts for years. The offences for which most of the unfortunate victims were charged were
of trivial nature and in most of the cases the punishment in all probability would be a shorter
sentence than the period of their detention. The Supreme Court directed the Bihar
Government to release those prisoners who have already been in jail for a period longer than
what they would have been sentenced to suffer, if convicted. The Supreme Court observed:
“This discloses a shocking state of affairs and betrays a complete lack of concern for human
values. It exposes the callousness of our legal and judicial system which can remain unmoved
by such enormous misery and suffering resulting from totally unjustified deprivation of
personal liberty. It is indeed difficult for us to understand how the state government could
possibly remain oblivious to the continued incarceration of those under-trial prisoners for
years without even their trial being commenced. The judiciary in the State of Bihar can also
not escape its blame of share because it would not have been unaware of the fact that
thousands of under-trial prisoners are languishing in jail awaiting trial which never seems to
commence.”
Perhaps the most shocking and revealing state is that of slave system operating in Indian
jails. The slaves are the poor boys mostly under-trial prisoners, between ten to eighteen years
of age employed as helpers. They cook, wash utensils, clean rooms, fetch water and do back
breaking labour to help the men, who are employed to do these chores. They would be asked
to get up early in the morning to prepare tea and would be allowed to go for sleep late at night
after scrubbing the pots and pans. They are kept confined into a ward, which had no fan and
no proper sanitary facilities. The boys are kept in jail as long as possible without them the
persons employed in menial duties would have no time to relax. They are taken from one
court to another to be tried under one charge or another and kept in jail all the while.
A touching account of crime of punishment, which in fact, touches beyond tears is of children
being lapped up and locked up for the use as bonded labour on tramp charges in the punitive
house of justice. Whenever the number of prisoners goes up, the police are asked to bring the
boys to help chores. One such instance has been narrated in Sunil Batra case17, when one boy
was picked up from the Defence Colony in New Delhi, kept in police lock up for night and
16
Hussainara v. Home Secy., (1980) 1 SCC 81.
17
Sunil Batra v. State of Maharashtra, AIR 1978 SC 1579.

brought to jail in the morning. In this way, young person exposed to violence and sufferings
of jail life, rub shoulders with hardened criminals and lead a tragic existence.
Justice delayed is justice denied. The irony of the fate is that in all cases it is the poor who
cannot afford legal representation, is the victim of criminal justice system. The rich may be
able to get out of the net because he can afford expenses of legal representation. Even some
rich men who become victims of exigencies of judicial process and sentenced to a nominal
term of imprisonment for violations of grave offences, like smuggling, hording, black
marketing, tax evasion, etc. are reported to have operated under their business from prison.
Thus, the poor, the weak, the pavement dwellers and palace hovers have different yardsticks
in the Courts, in prisons and even after release.

4. RESTORATIVE JUSTICE: THEORY AND PRACTICE
Restorative justice revolves around the ideas that crime is, in essence, a violation of a person
by another person (rather than a violation of legal rules); that in responding to a crime our
primary concerns should be to make offenders aware of the harm they have caused, to get
them to understand and meet their liability to repair such harm, and to ensure that further
offences are prevented; that the form and amount of reparation from the offender to the
victim and the measures to be taken to prevent members of their communities through
constructive dialogue in an informal and consensual process; and that efforts should be made
to improve the relationship between the offender and the victim and to reintegrate the
offender into the law abiding community.18
The proponents of the restorative justice argue that punishment society’s customary response
to crime; neither meets the needs of victim nor prevents reoffending. Restorative justice
aims at encouraging offenders to take responsibility for the consequences of their
actions; express repentance ad repair the harm they have done. Restorative justice also
emphasizes the reintegration of offenders into communities rather than their control through
strategies of punishment and exclusion. Restorative justice is an evolving response to crimes
that respect the dignity and equality of each person, builds understanding, and promotes
social harmony, it is now believed that many times the victim induces or facilitates the
commission of crime. There are certain offences in which the victim plays a very important
role and the words towards the success of crime, e.g., abortion, prostitution. The study of
victim-offender relationship, therefore, is considered necessary today for determining the
question of guilt of the offender and for fixing up the nature and amount of penalty for the
offender. This process provides an opportunity for victims to obtain reparation, feel safer and
seek closure, allow offenders to gain insight into the cause and effects of their behaviour and
to take responsibility in a meaningful way and enable communities to understand the
underlying causes of crime.19
The restorative and reparative theories that have developed in response to the plight of
victims of crime also underline the necessity of compensate the victims of crime. Their
argument is that sentence should move away from punishment of offender towards restitution
and reparation, aimed at restoring the harm done and calculated accordingly.
18
Wright, M. Justice for victims and offenders, Milton, Keynes, U.K. Open University Press, 1991.
19
Devasal V.V. ‘Victimology and the role of victims in crime, Cochin University Law Review, 1980.

The three principles that form the foundation for restorative justice:
i. Justice requires that we work to restore those who have been injured.
ii. Those most directly involved and affected by the crime should have the
opportunity to participate fully in the response if they wish.
iii. Government’s role is to preserve a just public order and the community’s is to
build and maintain a just peace.
Restorative justice is a theory of justice that emphasizes repairing the harm caused by
criminal behaviour. It is best accomplished through cooperative processes that include
all stakeholders. This can lead to transformation of people, relationship and
communities.
Practices and programs reflecting restorative purposes will respond to crime by:
i. identifying and taking steps to repair harm;

ii. involving all stakeholders, and
iii. transforming the traditional relationship between communities and their
governments in responding to crime.
As its antecedents did, restorative justice has challenged assumptions about how the
criminal justice system should function. Some of these conceptual issues include:
 Rights and responsibilities- The traditional criminal justice system defines and seeks
to protect individuals’ rights through formal, adversarial processes. Restorative justice
places a high value on individuals voluntarily assuming responsibilities and seeking to
resolve conflict through informal processes.
 Norm Classification- Criminal justice clarifies and upholds norms through
enforcement of laws. Restorative justice relies more on conversations about norms in
the context of specific instances of wrongdoing and the resulting harm.
 Fairness- Criminal justice seeks fairness through procedural protections. Restorative
justice focuses on the satisfaction of the parties that justice was achieved.
 Discretion- Criminal justice gives a grat deal of discretion to police, prosecutors and
judges to decide how cases should be handled. Restorative justice seeks to be guided
by the interests and desires of the parties.

 Due Process- How does restorative justice provide due process protections to the
parties, particularly rights such as the presumption of innocence, the right to a fair
trial and protection against coercion, and the right to assistance of counsel.
 Equal protection- What assurances are there that restorative justice program, can
even-handedly administer justice without regard to race, gender, religion, national
origin, social standing, etc.?
 Victims’ Rights- Are the interests of the victims better met in restorative or
traditional criminal justice processes? How are those rights balanced against the rights
of those accused or convicted of committing crimes against them?
 Proportionality- A principle of criminal justice is that similar offences deserve
similar punishments. How important is that in restorative programs?
Restorative justice compares well with traditional criminal justice:
 It substantially reduces repeat offending for some offenders, although not all,
 It reduces repeat offending more than prison for adults and at least as well as prison
for youths,
 It doubles (or more) the offences brought to justice as diversions from criminal
justice,
 When used as a diversion it helps reduce the costs of criminal justice,
 It provides both victims and offenders with more satisfaction that justice had been
done than did traditional criminal justice,
 It reduces crime victims’ post-traumatic stress symptoms and the related costs, and
 It reduces crime victims’ desire for violent revenge against their offenders.
4.1 RESTORATIVE JUSTICE: PRACTICE
Nowadays it is widely accepted that when the term “Restorative Justice” is used in a criminal
justice context, it can refer to any of these four programmes:
1. VICTIM-OFFENDER MEDIATION
Victim-offender mediation is one of the most well-known and commonly used contemporary
restorative programmes. In its typical form, it brings together the primary victim and offender
using a trained mediator to coordinate the meeting. When both parties have had their say, the

mediator helps them consider ways to make things right. In Lon Fuller’s terms “Since
mediators claim no authority. They can empower people through the mediation process to
regain control over their own relationship rather than assume that all social order must be
imposed by some kind of authority.” Fuller claimed that the justice system should welcome
the introduction of programmes that diver cases form the cold and formal procedure of courts
and prison to the warmer and more personal mediation rooms. He argued that mediation’s
central quality is “its capacity to reorient the parties towards each other, not by imposing on
them, but by helping them to achieve a new and shared perception of their relationship, a
perception that will redirect their attitudes and dispositions towards one another.” Victim-
offender mediation can appear in various shapes and forms depending on the structure if the
criminal justice system in which it is introduced, as well as the level of tolerance coming
from the public, the politicians and the cultural and historical background of the country in an
attempt to categorise the various kinds of mediation programmes, a classification can be
drawn on two broad bases, the first category uses the programmes’ relationship with the
traditional criminal justice system, distinguishing three different types of mediation schemes:
‘independent’, ‘relatively independent’ and ‘dependent’.
To sum up, the victim-offender mediation can appear as part of/instead of/ on top of the
structure of the formal criminal justice system. It can take place at any time during the
criminal process, or outside the system altogether.
In general, the process of all types of victim-offender mediation programmes follows the
same basic steps:
1. The first step is a referral of the case to the mediation programme. Referrals usually
come from the system’s agents (such as police, prosecutors, judges and probation
officers) and may take place at any time from the report of the crime to the parole
period.
2. The second step is the preparation of the case victim and offender are contacted
separately, and asked if they are interested in joining the mediation programme. The
facilitator then gathers the information about the offence and schedules the session.
3. The third step is the actual meeting between the offender and the victim. Here, the
structure of the meeting varies accordingly.
4. The final step involves preparing the file and returning it to the referral source.

2. FAMILY GROUP CONFERENCES
This programme finds its roots in tradition. There seems to be an agreement in the literature
that it has developed from a Maori ancient practice in New Zealand. A family group
conference differs from victim-offender mediation in that it involves more parties in the
process. In particular, not only are primary victims and offenders included, but also
secondary victims, the parties’ families and close friends, community representatives or the
police.
All these people are welcomed, because they are connected to at least one of the primary
participants.
They are brought together by a third impartial party, who is usually trained for this task
(facilitator). However, the facilitator does not play a role in the substantive discussion. Some
forms of conferencing are ‘scripted’, which means that the facilitator follows a prescribed
pattern in guiding discussion.
A necessary pre-condition of all family-group conferences is that the offender has admitted to
the offence and that all parties are participating out of their own will and desire to reconcile
and restore their relationship in a sincere and humane way.
 The process starts with offenders’ description of what has happened, and whom they
think are affected by their actions.
 Victims then describe their experience and the effect that the harm had on their lives.
Through narrations and questions, all parties are given the chance to have a thorough
discussion, expressing feelings such as anger, fear, hate, pit, regret and vengeance.
Most importantly, however, offenders are faced with the human impact the incident had on
their victims and their family, and of course, on their own family and friends. However,
restored relationships and feelings are not the only possible outcomes of this programme.
Together, the group decides what the offender needs to do to repair the harm and what
assistance the offender will need in doing so. Victims are asked what ‘practical outcomes’
they expect from the conference, so that the director if the programme can shape the
appropriate obligations on the offender.
The session ends with the parties signing an agreement outlining their expectations and
commitments to each other. All participants may take part in carrying out the final agreement,

which is then sent to the appropriate criminal justice officials. Family group conferences can
be used in multiple stages of the criminal process.
3. HEALING AND SENTENCING/ PEACEKEEPING-PEACEMAKING CIRCLES
These programmes are community-directed processes, usually working side by side with the
criminal justice system. They are organised by a community justice committee, which
decides which cases to accept. They originate from traditional circle rituals, where tribes used
to gather and discuss their conflicts to find solutions to their disputes. Today, they typically
involve a multi-step procedure, which starts with an application by offenders to participate in
the process, and continues with a ‘healing circle’ for them and their victims. If the discussion
in the ‘healing process’ proves to be constructive, helpful and sincere, then a ‘sentencing
circle’ is formed for the discussion on the elements of a sentencing plan. After all parties
have agreed a sentence, ‘follow-up circles’, in various intervals, are formed to monitor the
progress of the offender. Circles are similar to conferencing in that they expand participation
beyond the primary victim and offender. However, in this case, additionally any member of
the community has any interest in the case may participate.
These can be: the victim, the offender, their families and friends, judges as well as court
personnel, prosecutors, defence counsels and police.
There is a ‘keeper of the circle’ whose role is to ensure that the process is protected. All the
participants sit in a circle, and the process typically begins with an explanation of what has
happened. Subsequently, everyone is given the opportunity to talk. The discussion moves
from person to person around the circle with anyone saying whatever they wish and continues
until everything that needs to be said has been said. The overall goal is to promote healing for
all injured parties, and an opportunity for the offender to make amends to the victim and the
society.
This programme promotes a sense of community, empowering its participants by giving them
a voice and a shared responsibility in a process whereby all parties try to find constructive
solutions. Circles are used at various stages both within and outside the criminal process.
4. COMMUNITY RESTORATIVE BOARDS
This restorative programme is a typical example of community members becoming

substantially involved in the justice process. Community restorative boards are small group

of active citizens, specifically trained to conduct puvlic, face to face meetings with offenders
‘sentenced’ by the court to participate. The aim of each board is to provide an opportunity for
victims and the community to confront offenders in a constructive manner, while giving a
chance to the offender to take personal responsibility. Community restorative boards promote
citizens’ ownership of the criminal justice system, as they provide them with an opportunity
to get directly involved in the justice process, generating meaningful ‘community-driven’
consequences for criminal actions that are said to reduce costly reliance in formal criminal
justice processing. The process usually involves a meeting with the board members
discussing the nature of the offence, and the negative effects it had on the victim and
community.
After a thorough examination, the Board develops a set of proposed sanctions, which they
discuss with the offender and the victim, until they all reach an understandable acceptable
agreement. Then, they talk about the method, specific actions and timetable for the reparation
of the crime. Subsequently, offenders have to document their progress in fulfilling exact
terms of the agreement. The process ends when the stipulated period of time has collapsed,
and the board of members has submitted a report to the court on the offender’s compliance
with the agreed upon sanctions.20
20
http://www.racolblegal.com/criminal-victimization-and-justice-administration-in-india/ (visited on 4th April,
2019).

5. COMPENSATION TO VICTIMS OF CRIME
The evolution of the concept can be traced both historically and theoretically. Historically the
concept of victimology in crude sense was not only part of Hammurabi’s Code but also
existed in developed sense in ancient Greek city-states. The concept of compensation was
also not new to India and existed in more developed sense than present.
The traditional concept of compensation is based on the restitutive justice which required
compensation by the wrong-doer to the victim or his family member. However, the state is
merely concerned with the punishment and reformation of the criminal. The victim was left
high and dry to fend for himself. He can recover damages by a suit in civil court but this
remedy is so dilatory, expensive and troublesome that a victim may not get the benefit of it
even in his life time.
In various countries including India, the victims are paid compensation out of fine imposed
on the offender. In some countries, the state has also accepted the responsibility to pay
compensation to the victim.
5.1 LEGISLATIVE PROVISIONS
The already existing legal provisions are explained as follows:
 SECTION 357 OF THE CRIMINAL PROCEDURE CODE, 1973
This is the basic provision dealing with the power of the court to order compensation. Clause
2 sub-section 1 of Section 357 of Cr.P.C. provides that when a court imposes a sentence of
fine or a sentence (including a sentence of death) of which fine forms a part, the court may,
when passing judgment order the whole or any part of the fine recovered to be applied in the
payment of any person of compensation for any loss or injury caused by the offence, when
compensation is, in the opinion of the court, recoverable by such person in civil court.
Though the principle underlying Section 357 of Cr.P.C. is salutary, yet it is limited in its
scope. The section will apply only when the accused is convicted that is to say that proving
the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt is pre-requisite for the section to come into
play. Further, it also depend upon the recovery of fine from the accused, when fine form part
of the sentence. If the fine is not imposed, the magistrate may order any amount to be paid by
way of compensation which he considers just in the circumstances of the case. It is generally

seen that either Section 357 is not invoked or even if it is invoked, the compensation amount
is highly inadequate as compared to the sufferings and pain of the victim. Sometime, the
financial capacity of the accused is taken into account and this further reduces the quantum
of compensation as most of the accused are from lower socio-economic background. Further,
given the low rate of conviction in India, Section 357 had remained almost dormant for very
long.
 SECTION 357A OF THE CRIMINAL PROCEDURE CODE, 1973
This is the most recent and important legal provision is Victim Compensation Scheme under
Section 357A of the Cr.P.C. inserted by Criminal Law Amendment Act, 2009. Clause (1) of
Section 357A provides that every state government in co-ordination with the central
government shall prepare a scheme for providing funds for the purpose of compensation to
the victim or his dependents who have suffered loss or injury as a result of the crime and who
require rehabilitation. Clause (2) provides that whenever a recommendation is made by the
court for compensation, the District Legal Service Authority or State Legal Service
Authority, as the case may be, shall decide the quantum of compensation to be awarded
under the scheme.
 SECTION 5 OF THE PROBATION OF OFFENDERS ACT, 1958
This provision has also empowered the courts to require released offenders to pay the
restitution and costs as under. The section says that:
The court directing the release of an offender under Section 3 or Section 4 may, if it thinks
fit, make at the same time a further order directing him to pay:
Such restitution as the court thinks reasonable for loss or injury caused to any person by the
commission of the offence; and
Such cost of the proceeding as the court thinks reasonable.
The amount ordered to be paid under sub-section (1) may be recovered as a fine in
accordance with the provisions of Sections 357 and 358 of the Cr.P.C.
A civil court trying any suit out of the same manner for which the offender is prescribed,
shall take into account “any amount paid or recovered as restitution under sub-section (1) in
awarding damages”.
 SECTION 163 OF THE MOTOR VEHICLES ACT, 1988

In “hit and run” cases, accident victims are eligible for compensation through a special fund
called “Solatium Fund”. The amount of compensation is Rs. 25,000/- in the event of death
and Rs. 12,500/- for grievous injuries. A portion of the “gross written premium” is
contributed towards this fund every year by both public and private insurers. However, in
case the vehicle is without insurance, the victim/dependents have the right to claim
compensation from the owner/driver under Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.
5.2 JUSTICE MALIMATH COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING

VICTIMS’ RIGHTS
The Malimath Committee on the Reform of the Criminal Justice, while dealing with the
victims’ perspectives, observed that criminal justice administration will assume a new
direction towards better and quicker justice once the rights of the victims are recognized by
law and restitution for loss of life, limb and property are provided for in the system. The
Committee categorically pointed out that dispensing justice to the victims of crime can no
longer be ignored on the ground of scarcity of resources. The Committee observed that victim
compensation is a state obligation in all serious crimes, whether the accused is apprehended
or not, convicted or acquitted. Some specific recommendations are:
i. The victim, and if he/she is dead, his legal representative shall have the right to be
impleaded as a party in every criminal proceeding where the charge is punishable
with 7 years imprisonment or more. In select cases notified by the appropriate
government, with the permission of the court an approved voluntary organization
shall also have the right to implead in the court proceedings.
ii. The victim has a right to be represented by an advocate of his/her choice; provided
that an advocate shall be provided at the cost of the state if the victim is not in a
position to afford a lawyer.
iii. The victim shall have the right to participate in criminal trial.
iv. The victim shall have a right to prefer an appeal against any adverse order passed
by the court acquitting the accused, convicting for a lesser offence, imposing
inadequate sentence, or granting inadequate compensation. Such appeal shall lie to
the court to which an appeal ordinarily lies against the order of conviction of such
court.

v. Legal services to victims in select crimes may be extended to include psychiatric

and medical help, interim compensation and protection against secondary
victimization.
vi. Victim compensation is a state obligation in all serious crimes, whether the
offender is apprehended or not, convicted or acquitted. This is to be organized in a
separate legislation by the parliament. The draft bill on the subject submitted to
the government in 1996 by the Indian Society of Victimology provides a tentative
framework for consideration.
vii. The victim compensation law will provide for the creation of a victim
compensation fund to be administered possibly by the Legal Services Authority.
The law should provide for the scale of compensation in different offences for the
guidance of the court. It may specify offences in which compensation may not be
granted and conditions under which it may be awarded or withdrawn.
5.3 JUDICIAL OBSERVATIONS ON VICTIMS’ PLIGHTS
It was observed by the Supreme Court in the case of State of M.P. v. Shyamsunder Trivedi
that the exaggerated adherence to and insistence upon the establishment of proof beyond
every reasonable doubt, by the prosecution, ignoring the ground realities, the fact situation
and the peculiar circumstances of a given case often results in miscarriage of justice and
makes the justice delivery system a suspect. In the ultimate analysis, the society suffers and a
criminal gets encouraged. Sometimes it is stated that only rights of the criminals are kept in
mind, the victims are forgotten.
In Hari Singh v. Sukhbir Singh21, the Supreme Court observed that courts have seldom
invoked Section 357 of Cr.P.C. perhaps due to the ignorance of the object behind it. The
power under Section 357 is intended to assure the victim that he is not forgotten in the
criminal justice administration. The court recommended that the power of the courts to award
compensation under this section be exercised liberally so as to meet the ends of justice in a
better way.
In State of Gujarat v. High Court of Gujarat22, on the question regarding fixation of wages
for the prisoners, Wadhwa, J., observed that in deciding on the question of wages payable to
21
AIR 1988 SC 2127.
22
(1998) 7 SCC 392.

the prisoners the state has to show equal concern for the victim and the family. In the efforts
to look after and protect the human rights of the convict, court cannot forget the victim or his
family, he said. The victim is certainly entitled to reparation, restitution and safeguard of his
rights. Criminal justice would look hollow if justice is not done to the victim of the crime. A
victim of crime cannot be a forgotten entity in the criminal justice administration. It is he who
suffers the most.
5.4 COMPENSATORY JURISPRUDENCE EVOLVED BY THE SUPREME COURT
The Supreme Court of India has played the most commendable role in evolving
compensatory jurisprudence for the victims. Some of the landmark cases in which the
Supreme Court provided compensation to the victim include Chairman, Railway Board and
Others v. Mrs. Chandrima Das23, in which the Supreme Court ordered compensation to the
rape victim, who was a Bangladeshi national, by the government for the rape committed in
the Yatri Niwas managed by the Indian Railways at Howrah Station.
Then again, in Nilabati Behara v. State of Orissa24, the Court ordered compensation for
custodial killing of the victim by the police in the State of Orissa. In both the cases, the Court
held that victims’ fundamental rights under Article 21 of the Constitution of India, 1950 were
violated.
In Rudal Shah v. State of Bihar25, the Supreme Court made it categorically clear that the
higher judiciary has the power to award compensation for violation of fundamental rights
through the exercise of writ jurisdiction and evolved the principle of compensatory justice in
the annals of human rights jurisprudence.
Thus, the role of the Supreme Court in this direction is laudable. The only thing required is
the assistance of the legislature in the form of comprehensive law on victims’ compensation
and rehabilitation and executive assistance in the form of better implementation of the law.
5.5 BROAD GUIDELINES OF THE SUPREME COURT FOR THE ASSISTANCE TO

THE RAPE VICTIMS
23
(2000) 2 SCC 465.
24
1993 SCR (2) 581.
25
1983 SCR (3) 508.

Shocked and aghast at the plight of the rape victims, the Supreme Court in Delhi Domestic
Working Women’s Forum v. Union of India26 laid down broad guidelines for the assistance of
the rape victims:
The complainant of sexual assault cases should be provided with legal representation. It is
important to have someone who is well-acquainted with the criminal justice administration.
The role of the victim’s advocate would not only be to explain to the victim the nature of the
proceedings, to prepare her for the case and to assist her in the police station and in the court,
but to provide her with guidance as to how she might obtain help of a different nature from
other agencies, e.g., counselling through medical assistance. It is important to secure
continuity of assistance by ensuring that same person who looked after the complainant’s
interests in the police station, represent her till the end of the case.
Legal assistance will have to provide at the police station. Since the victim might be in a
distressed state upon the arrival at the police station, the guidance and support of the lawyer
at this stage is very important.
The police should be under a duty to inform the victim of her right to representation.
A list of the advocate willing to act in those cases should be kept at the police station for the
victims who did not have particular lawyer in mind, or whose lawyer was unavailable.
In all rape trials, anonymity of the victims must be maintained as far as necessary.
It is necessary, having regard to the Directives Principles of State Policy (D.P.S.P.) under
Article 38(1) of the Constitution of India to set up Criminal Injuries Compensation Board
(C.I.C.B.). Compensation to the victim shall be awarded by the court on the conviction of the
offender and by the C.I.C.B., whether or not the conviction has taken place. The court shall
take into account the pain, suffering and shock as well as loss of earning due to pregnancy
and the expenses of child birth, if this occurred as a result of the rape. These Principles were
reiterated in Bodhisattwa Gautam v. Subhra Chakraborty27. Factors to be considered while
making order for compensation:
 Compensation must be reasonable- The order under Section 357 for payment of
compensation must be reasonable. The quantum of compensation may be determined
26
1995 SCC (1) 14.
27
1996 SCC (1) 490 .

by taking into account the nature of the crime, the justness of the claim by the victim
and the ability of the accused to pay. If there are more than one accused, they must be
asked to pay in equal terms unless their capacity to pay varies considerably.
 Accused capacity to pay compensation should be considered: While awarding
compensation the Court has to decide whether the case is a fit one in which
compensation has to be awarded. It is the duty of the Court to take into account, the
nature of the crime, the injury suffered, the justness of the claim for compensation and
other relevant circumstances in fixing the amount of compensation.
In Tata Steel Ltd. v. M/S Atma Tube Products Ltd. & Ors.28, it was held that the definition of
victim and right to victim compensation has been given due importance. Definition of Victim
under Section 2 (wa) of the Code which includes his/her guardian or legal heir within the
expression “Victim”, with special reference to the right to engage an advocate and the right to
appeal under proviso to Section 372 of the Cr. P.C. and the word “Victim” also means only a
person, who has suffered any loss or injury caused by reason of the act or omission of the
offender and the victim includes his or her guardian or legal heir.
The concept of ‘Victim Compensation Scheme’ has also been brought up on the statute book
by the same Amendment Act through a newly added Section 357A of the Cr.P.C. which inter
alia provides that “Every State Government in co-ordination with the Central Government
shall prepare a scheme for providing funds for the purpose of compensation to the victim or
his dependants who have suffered the loss or injury as a result of the crime and who, require
rehabilitation.
If the Trial Court, at the conclusion of the trial, is satisfied, that the compensation awarded
under Section 357 is not adequate for such rehabilitation, or where the case ends in acquittal
or discharge and the victim has to be rehabilitated, it may make recommendation for
compensation.” Similarly, its sub-section (4) enables that “Where the offender is not traced or
identified but the victim is identified, and where no trial takes place, the victim or his
dependants may make an application to the State or the District Legal Services Authority for
award of compensation.”
The only escapable conclusion would be to hold the right to appeal given to a ‘victim’ under
proviso to section 372 of the code is prospective and has become enforceable w.e.f.
28
2010 CRM 790 MA (O & M).

December 31, 2009 only. A ‘victim’ is entitled to prefer appeal in respect of any type of order
referred to in the proviso to section 372 if such order has been passed on or after December
31, 2009 irrespective of the date of registration of FIR or the date of occurrence etc. To be
more specific, it is clarified that it is the date of passing of the order to be appealed from and
not any other fact situation, which shall determine the right to appeal of a ‘victim’. This
judgment has given the purpose of availing the remedy of appeal as well as ‘rights of the
victim’ under the amended Cr.P.C sections which are accessory and auxiliary to the victim in
their support.

6. CURRENT SITUATION OF VICTIMS OF CRIME IN INDIA AT EACH

STAGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE PROCESS
The Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power (UN
General Assembly, 1985), considered the ‘magna carta’ for victims, provides the basic
framework of principles which in the last two decades have been vociferously debated and
converted as victims’ rights by some of the developed countries. The international standards
expected of the countries in the treatment of victims by the CJS agencies at different stages of
the criminal process have been elaborately detailed in the UN Handbook on Justice for
Victims (United Nations Office for Drugs and Crimes, 1999, chapter III, pp.56-76). The
police play a pivotal role in victim assistance as it is the first agency victims come into
contact with after being victimized by a crime. The attitude of the victims towards the entire
CJS will be based on the kind of treatment the victims get from the police whom they first
encounter. Unfortunately, in India the police are still not oriented to meet the expectations of
the victims as per the UN Handbook on Justice for Victims. The police at the field level who
are in actual contact with the victims in day–to-day crime situations are blissfully ignorant of
the international developments in the field of Victimology and the better treatment victims
deserve from the police. The treatment of victims by the police also forms the basis for a
negative perception of the CJS, more particularly, the police, because the “treatment with
compassion and respect for their dignity”, emphasized by the UN Declaration, is missing
completely. Because of the police behaviour and their attitude in general, the legal
community opposes any criminal law reforms which bestow trust on the police and enhance
their powers. Even today, Section 25 of the Indian Evidence Act, “No confession made to a
police officer shall be proved as against a person accused of any offence”, remains in force.
But the Government and the Police Academies pursue a policy of sensitizing the police to a
better treatment of victims. The Handbook says that “victims have a valid interest in the
prosecution of the case and should be involved at all stages of the proceedings”. In practice,
the entire court proceedings protect the rights and interest of the accused, neglecting the
victims’ interest. Excepting that the victims are summoned to tender evidence in courts, the
various services and assistance to be rendered by the prosecution to victims (p.66-68) are not
practiced in the criminal courts in India. In a nutshell, victims are alien to the criminal
proceedings as they have no rights excepting to be a witness when summoned by the court.
With regard to the role of the judiciary in justice for victims, though judges are by and large
sympathetic towards victims, on many of the requirements, such as separate waiting halls,

information special services and support, ordering of restitution to victims, victim

participation, victim protection etc. (p.69-72) we have a long way to go to realize victim
justice in India. However, in the last decade, there is greater awareness on the part of the
higher judiciary of the need for a better treatment of crime victims by the criminal justice
agencies at different stages in India and this is reflected in the recommendations of the
different committees and commissions calling for reforms in the criminal justice system to
improve the existing conditions and situations of victims during the criminal justice process
and some of the landmark judgments of the apex court in India.
6.1 AFFIRMATIVE ACTION BY THE HIGHER JUDICIARY
1. RESTITUTION TO VICTIMS- Despite the absence of any special legislation to render

justice to victims in India, the Supreme Court has taken a proactive role and resorted to
affirmative action to protect the rights of victims of crime and abuse of power. The court has
adopted the concept of restorative justice and awarded compensation or restitution or
enhanced the amount of compensation to victims, beginning from the 1980s29.
2. JUSTICE FOR RAPE VICTIMS - GUIDELINES FOR VICTIM ASSISTANCE: In

Bodhisattwa Gautam v. Subhra Chakraborty30, the Supreme Court held that if the court
trying an offence of rape has jurisdiction to award compensation at the final stage, the Court
also has the right to award interim compensation. The court, having satisfied the prima facie
culpability of the accused, ordered him to pay a sum of Rs.1000 every month to the victim as
interim compensation along with arrears of compensation from the date of the complaint. It is
a landmark case in which the Supreme Court issued a set of guidelines to help indigenous
rape victims who cannot afford legal, medical and psychological services, in accordance with
the Principles of UN Declaration of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power, 1985:
i. The complainants of sexual assault cases should be provided with a victim’s Advocate
who is well acquainted with the CJS to explain to the victim the proceedings, and to
assist her in the police station and in Court and to guide her as to how to avail of
psychological counselling or medical assistance from other agencies;
ii. Legal assistance at the police station while she is being questioned;
29
Sukhdev Singh vs. State of Punjab (1982 SCC (Cr) 467), Balraj vs. State of U. P. (1994 SCC (Cr) 823), Giani
Ram vs. State of Haryana (AIR 1995 SC 2452), Baldev Singh vs. State of Punjab (AIR 1996 SC 372).
30
AIR 1996 SC 922.

iii. The police should be under a duty to inform the victim of her right to representation
before any questions are asked of her and the police report should state that the victim
was so informed;
iv. A list of Advocates willing to act in these cases should be kept at the police station for
victims who need a lawyer;
v. The Advocate shall be appointed by the Court, in order to ensure that victims are
questioned without undue delay;
vi. In all rape trials, anonymity of the victims must be maintained;
vii. It is necessary, having regard to the Directive Principles contained under Art. 38 (1)
of the Constitution of India to set up a Criminal Injuries Compensation Board. Rape
victims frequently incur substantial financial loss. Some, for example, are too
traumatized to continue in employment;
viii. Compensation for victims shall be awarded by the Court on conviction of the offender
and by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board whether or not a conviction has
taken place. The Board will take into account pain, suffering and shock as well as loss
of earnings due to pregnancy and the expenses of childbirth if this occurred as a result
of the rape.
3. STATE COMPENSATION FOR VICTIMS OF ABUSE OF POWER- As early as 1983, the

Supreme Court recognized the need for state compensation in cases of abuse of power by the
State machinery. In the landmark case of Rudul Sah v. State of Bihar31, the Supreme Court
ordered the Government of Bihar to pay to Rudul Sah a further sum of Rs.30,000 as
compensation, which according to the court was of a “palliative nature”, in addition to a sum
of Rs.5,000, in a case of illegal incarceration of the victim for long years. Similarly in Saheli,
a Women’s Resources Centre through Mrs. Nalini Bhanot v. Commissioner of Police, Delhi
Police32, the Court awarded a sum of Rs.75, 000 as state compensation to the victim’s
mother, holding that the victim died due to beating by the police. In another landmark case of
D. K. Basu v. State of West Bengal33, the Supreme Court held that state compensation is
mandatory in cases of abuse of power and said that “To repair the wrong done and give
judicial redress for legal injury is a compulsion of judicial conscience”.
31
AIR 1983 SC 1086.
32
AIR 1990 SC 513.
33
AIR 1997 SC 610.

6.2 RECOMMENDATIONS OF COMMISSIONS AND COMMITTEES ON JUSTICE TO

VICTIMS IN INDIA
During the last decade, there has been significant change in the thinking of the judiciary
about the human rights of victims. The concern of the courts and the judicial commissions
and committees about the need to have a law on victim compensation or a comprehensive law
on victim justice has been reflected in their judgments and reports.
1. THE LAW COMMISSION OF INDIA, 1996- The Law Commission, in its report in 1996,
stated that, “The State should accept the principle of providing assistance to victims out of its
own funds,
(i) in cases of acquittals; or
(ii) where the offender is not traceable, but the victim is identified; and
(iii) also in cases when the offence is proved.”34
2. THE JUSTICE MALIMATH COMMITTEE ON REFORMS OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE

SYSTEM (GOVERNMENT OF INDIA, 2003)- The Justice V. S. Malimath Committee has
made many recommendations of far-reaching significance to improve the position of victims
of crime in the CJS, including the victim’s right to participate in cases and to adequate
compensation. Some of the significant recommendations include:
• The victim, and if he is dead, his or her legal representative, shall have the right to be
impleaded as a party in every criminal proceeding where the offence is punishable with seven
years’ imprisonment or more;
• In select cases, with the permission of the court, an approved voluntary organization shall
also have the right to implead in court proceedings;
• The victim has a right to be represented by an advocate and the same shall be provided at
the cost of the State if the victim cannot afford a lawyer;
• The victim’s right to participate in criminal trial shall include the right: to produce evidence;
to ask questions of the witnesses; to be informed of the status of investigation and to move
the court to issue directions for further investigation; to be heard on issues relating to bail and
34
Law Commission of India Report, 1996.

withdrawal of prosecution; and to advance arguments after the submission of the prosecutor’s
arguments;
• The right to prefer an appeal against any adverse order of acquittal of the accused,
convicting for a lesser offence, imposing inadequate sentence, or granting inadequate
compensation;
• Legal services to victims may be extended to include psychiatric and medical help, interim
compensation, and protection against secondary victimization;
• Victim compensation is a State obligation in all serious crimes. This is to be organized in

separate legislation by Parliament. The draft bill on the subject submitted to Government in
1995 by the Indian Society of Victimology provides a tentative framework for consideration;
• The Victim Compensation Law will provide for the creation of a Victim Compensation
Fund to be administered possibly by the Legal Services Authority.
3. THE NATIONAL COMMISSION TO REVIEW THE WORKING OF THE

CONSTITUTION- The Commission to review the working of the Constitution (Government
of India, 2002) has advocated a victim-orientation to criminal justice administration, with
greater respect and consideration towards victims and their rights in the investigative and
prosecution processes, provision for greater choices to victims in trial and disposition of the
accused, and a scheme of reparation/compensation particularly for victims of violent crimes.
6.3 RECENT LAWS TO CARE FOR AND PROTECT SPECIAL CATEGORIES OF

VICTIMS
There are also significant developments in the form of new laws to promote the cause of
victims and to mitigate the sufferings of potential victims of vulnerable sections of the
population such as women, children and elders. The recent enactments passed by the
Parliament have a significant bearing on preventing victimization and giving relief to victims:
A. THE PROTECTION OF WOMEN FROM DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ACT, 2005-“The

Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005” is a major achievement of the
women’s movement towards protection of domestic violence victims after a struggle of 16
years. This Act aims to provide for more effective protection of the rights of women
guaranteed under the Constitution. The definition of domestic violence is wide enough to

include physical, sexual, verbal and emotional abuse. The unique feature of the Act is that it
prohibits denying the victim “continued access to resources or facilities which the aggrieved
person (victim) is entitled to use or enjoy by virtue of the domestic relationship, including
access to the shared household”. A police officer, protection officer or a magistrate who has
received a complaint of domestic violence has a mandatory duty to inform the victim of her
right to obtain a protection order or an order of monetary relief, a custody order, a residence
order, a compensation order or more than one such order and the availability of the services
of service providers, protection officers, and the right to free legal services under this Act. A
violation of the protection order by the respondent is an offence which can result in
imprisonment for one year or a fine up to Rs.20,000 or both. If the protection officer refuses
to discharge his duties, he shall be punished with imprisonment for one year or with a fine of
20,000 rupees or with both.
B. THE MAINTENANCE AND WELFARE OF PARENTS AND SENIOR CITIZENS ACT,

2007- This is also an innovative law aiming to protect elders and prevent elder abuse and
victimization, which is a growing problem in many countries, including India. Under this
law, an obligation is created of the children or adult legal heirs to maintain their parents, or
senior citizens above the age of 60 years who are unable to maintain themselves out of their
own earnings, to enable them to lead a normal life. If children or legal heirs neglect or refuse
to maintain the senior citizen, the Tribunal can pass an order asking the children or legal heirs
to make a monthly allowance for their maintenance.
C. PREVENTION OF CHILD ABUSE AND VICTIM PROTECTION- Empowering the child

is the road to prevention from abuse and victimization. To empower the child, education is
the tool. Therefore, primary education for children has been made a fundamental right as per
the decision of the Supreme Court of India in Unnikrishnan’s Case (1993). Article 21-A of
the Constitution states that “The State shall provide free and compulsory education to all
children of the age 6-14 years in such manner as the State may by law determine”. The
proposal also will have a positive impact on eradication of child labour. The spread of
elementary education through constitutional measures would have a good impact on other
social indicators like population growth, health and women’s development as well as
enhancement of productivity of the economy and reduction in unemployment.
D. THE NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR PROTECTION OF CHILD RIGHTS (NCPCR)

This Commission was set up in March 2007 and its mandate is to ensure that all Laws,

Policies, Programmes, and Administrative Mechanisms are in consonance with the Child
Rights perspective as enshrined in the Constitution of India and also the UN Convention on
the Rights of the Child (see at Government of India, 2009). India ratified the United Nations
Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1992 and this Act was passed as one of the
necessary steps to protect the rights of children in the country. The National Commission for
Protection of Child Rights has been taking up various issues brought forth in the area of child
abuse. After inquiry, the National Commission can recommend initiation of proceedings for
prosecution or any other action it may deem fit.
E. PREVENTION OF CASTE-BASED VICTIMIZATION AND PROTECTION FOR

VICTIMS- The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act,
1989 This is an act to prevent atrocities against the members of the Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes. Under this Act, compensation to victims is mandatory, besides several
other reliefs depending on the type of atrocity. The victims are entitled to receive monetary
compensation ranging from Rs. 25,000 to 200,000 depending on the gravity of the offence.

7. CHALLENGES AND PROPOSAL FOR MEASURES FOR VICTIMS IN

INDIA
In the process of prevention of victimization and the protection of victims, there are many
challenges faced in India which are being tackled through some positive measures. Some of
the challenges and the countermeasures include:
 POLICE ACT, 1861
The Colonial Police Act, 1861 continues to govern Indian police administration in the
country. The police are insensitive towards the needs and problems of the common citizen.
The police are still romanticizing with the colonial era wherein its role was confined to
maintenance of law and order as well as the suppression of freedom struggle. The same
mental attitude is followed in socialist welfare society which India initiated post
independence. The role of the police is highly disappointing when it comes to the assistance
of the victim. The police are probably the first official machinery to whom the victim of a
crime approaches. But the general trend of the Indian police is to ignore the plight of the
victim and look at the victim as a suspicious creature and sometime even casting doubt on the
integrity and character of the victim especially women victims. Lot of effort was made since
independence to reform the police and make it more democratic and people-centric but all
effort went in vain due to the lack of political will power. The police are important machinery
in the hand of ruling elite and no political master would like to part with it. This trend has
acquired phenomenal acceptance among the ruling political elite in recent times due to the
increased criminalization of politics and administration in the country. Little wonder, some of
the important recommendations of the Administrative Reforms Commissions such as first
and second Administrative Reforms Commissions went in vain. The National Police
Commission (1977) recommendations on police reform was also not given due consideration
by the government. Not only that, even the salutary directives of the Supreme Court in
Prakash Singh v. Union of India24 to the states regarding implementation of the police
reform did not bear any result. The Police Act Drafting Committee under the Chairmanship
of Shree Soli Sorabjee submitted its Model Police Act in the year 2006, but it was not
implemented. Rather, after the crime is committed and victim approaches the police station
for the assistance of the police, the secondary victimization of the victim starts which, at
times, is much more agonizing than the primary victimization of the victim. Further, no
training is given to the police regarding handling of the victim. The tough training given to

the police regarding handling of the criminal is sometimes blindly applies to the victim which
multiplies the pain of the victim. Training in victim assistance is alien to Indian system of
training. The psychological support which victim requires by the criminal administration
machinery is altogether missing, thus, adding to the plight of the victim. The concept of
“Victim Impact Statement’ is also alien to Indian system of criminal administration. The
police, as the most important arm of criminal justice administration, lack the compassionate
mindset requires for handling of the victim. As a result, the victim suffers secondary
victimization at the hand of the police. Sensitization and democratization of the police is the
need of the hour.
 LACK OF SPEEDY TRIAL
It is the major contributor to the pain of the victim. The victim crying for justice is left at the
mercy of the court system wherein a case drags on for years. In the meantime, the witnesses
are threatened, purchased, intimidated, material evidence tampered, key player in criminal
administration bribed which ultimately result in low conviction rate and accused is set free
and becomes role model for prospective criminals in the society. In the meantime, victim is
traumatized and ultimately led a life of depression. Mental pain is compounded rather than
alleviated due to slow nature of judicial administration in our country.
 LACK OF REHABILITATION
The government failure at rehabilitation of the victim is the most serious factor contributing
to the pain and plight of the victim. The victim of sexual offences and victims who are minor
or insane requires better psychological environment to make a new beginning in life. But the
rehabilitation infrastructure is very poor in India. There is no fixed budgetary allocation for
the rehabilitation and everything is left at the mercy of the concerned ministry. In the past
few years, Ministry of Women and Child have shown interest in focusing on rehabilitation
infrastructure, yet the overall picture is dismal. Most of the rehabilitation work done by Non-
governmental Organizations (NGOs) is also not very satisfactory. Further, regular medical
and psychological counselling is missing in these rehabilitation centres. There has been report
that these centres have become den of exploitation of inmates by the authorities himself. E.g.,
“A living hell with stinking toilets, abusive staff and lack of supervision by senior officers of
the department of women and children. This place can’t be called a rehabilitation centre”, is
how the rehabilitation home in Mumbai named Navjeevan Mahila Sudhar Vastigruha was
described by the 2-member committee set up by the Mumbai High Court. The committee,

comprising superintendent of police Rashmi Karandikar and psychiatrist Dr. Harish Shetty,
was appointed to hold a preliminary enquiry against allegations of sexual abuse after repeated
incidents of inmates escaping the home. The centre came into limelight because of repeated
escape of inmates from the centre. “It is a failed centre. The women have experienced
accelerated trauma in the rehabilitation centre and they have a sense of deep mistrust,
rejection and injustice with no faith left in the establishment. It is a deep sense of shame to
society that we still have medieval, feudal rescue homes which marginalize these women
more than they already were,” said Dr. Harish Shetty. In another shocking incidence,
mentally ill women lodged at a rehabilitation centre in West Bengal were subjected to sexual
abuse. The caretaker of the rehabilitation centre allowed inside the centre outsiders in
evenings, who then sexually abused the inmates. This mental asylum was run by NGO and
funded by central government. When the media reported the matter, the West Bengal
government cancelled the license of the rehabilitation centre and shifted the inmates to
another rehabilitation centre. The story holds true for many rehabilitation centres across the
country. Hence, constant monitoring and supervision of this rehabilitation centres needs
urgent attention so that such centres do not become den of exploitation of the victims. A fixed
budgetary allocation for rehabilitation infrastructure by the central and state ministry is the
need of the hour. It is to be hoped that Section 357A will play a major role in this direction.
Some states have taken a lead in this direction. E.g., the Maharashtra Government is in
process of drafting a victim rehabilitation policy. This was informed by the Maharashtra
Government to the Mumbai High Court which was hearing a petition filed by an NGO called
“Forum Against Oppression of Women”.28 The draft policy will provide assistance for rape
victims, acid attack victims and sexual assault victims. The scheme will provide financial,
medical and legal assistance to the above mentioned victims. This draft rehabilitation scheme
is in pursuance of newly inserted Section 357A of the Cr.P.C. which obligates the state to
frame a scheme for rehabilitation and compensation to the victims. According to the policy,
immediately after the incident of crime, a victim will be entitled to compensation as the
policy is not linked to the outcome of court cases. Apart from these progressive steps, there is
a need to provide vocational training to the victims so that they can be self reliant in life.
The following suggestions may be made:

 India should adopt and ratify U.N. Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for
Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power, 1985 as soon as possible which will show her
commitment to make its criminal justice administration more victims oriented.
 A comprehensive legislation at the central level is required for victim compensation
and rehabilitation which will be obligatory for the state government to follow. The
proposed legislation should be a comprehensive one, and should deal with all the
aspects of victim compensation and rehabilitation. A Victim Compensation Authority
has to be established under the new Act. Any lethargic approach on the part of the
concerned officials in implementing the Act should be met with imposing penalty.
The monitoring mechanism should be tight which can ensure better implementation of
the legislation. The rehabilitation of the victim should not depend on the conviction of
the accused. Special care must be taken of the victims of sexual violence. The
legislation may be called Victims Compensation and Rehabilitation Act. All the broad
guidelines given by the Supreme Court in a number of cases regarding compensation
and rehabilitation of the victim must find place in the new legislation. There should be
special stringent punishment and penalty for public servant being perpetrator of crime
against the victim. The rehabilitation should definitely include vocational training and
employment component. Further, witness protection should be an integral part of the
new legislation.
 Every effort must be made to recover fine from the accused as his liability is primary.
The fine for most of the crimes should be substantially increased in view of the
modern day expenses, keeping in mind that a good portion of fine will go towards
compensation and rehabilitation of the victim. If the fine amount appears inadequate
for victim rehabilitation, the gap must be bridged by state assistance for the
rehabilitation of the victim. This approach will reduce unnecessary financial burden
on the state.
 Police should be sensitized towards the rights and plights of the victims. All rank of
police hierarchy should undergo compulsory training course on victim assistance in
which concerned NGOs can also play an important role. The course should enable the
police to understand the medical, psychological, legal and financial needs of the
victims. The presence police mindset is not supportive of victims. Sometimes, victims
and accused are treated in the same manner thus compounding the plight of the
victim. The police are the most important machinery in the criminal justice

administration, and if the police are not victim sensitive, then all efforts at victim
rehabilitation are bound to fail.
 Victim Impact Assessment (VIA) should be made an integral part of Indian criminal
justice administration.
 Victim should have a prominent say in criminal justice right from filing of the First
Information Report (FIR) till the conviction and sentencing of the accused. They
should be allowed to play active part in investigation and trial stage.
 A panel of lawyers should be available to provide legal assistance to the victims as
soon as the matter is reported to the police, as per the guidelines of the Supreme
Court.
 The efforts of Indian Society of Victimology (I.S.V.), Chennai must be commended
by the government and if possible, a periodic grant should be made to them. If the
efforts of I.S.V. are channelized in proper direction, they can play a very prominent
role in the area of victim assistance. The research conducted by them can be of great
help to the government and NGOs working in the field of victim assistance.35
35
http://jurip.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Gajendra-Misher.pdf (visited on 7th April, 2019).

8. CONCLUSION
The careful analysis of ‘Criminal Justice System’ reveals that victims are not allowed to
participate effectively in the investigatory, prosecutor and sentencing process. The
contemporary administration of the criminal and penal justice in India, which ensures the
protection of rights of the accusedconstitutionally and statutory and which is dominated
by the idea of from the point of view of the victims of crime and their competitive claims of
reparation but is also the negation of the Rule of Law36. It is the prime need of hour to give
serious consideration to effective and equitable reparation to victims of crime with view to
doing justice to them in the light of Malimath Committee Recommendations. Hon’ble D.P.
Wadhwa reminded us that in our efforts to look after and protect human rights of a convict
we should not forget a crime victim a ‘forgotten man’. Criminal Justice would look hollow
if justice is not done to the victims of crime37. The Supreme Court also emphasized to bring
the change in present Criminal Justice System:
“O’Reilly stresses the attitudinal training thus: The changes in the criminal justice system
necessary to approximate more closely to the present expectations of victims are not major or
structural. They are primarily attitudinal. They involve training the professional participants
in the criminal justice system that the victim is to be treated courteously, kept informed and
consulted about all stages of the process. They involve treating the victim as a more equal
partner...this might include a shift in working practices of the professional participants that
might initially appear to involve more work, more difficulty and more effort, but
paradoxically may result in easier detection, a higher standard of prosecution evidence and
fewer cases thrown at court.”38
The other important thing is to bring reforms in Police System so that it can be made people
friendly institutions. Otherwise the characteristic of our police is revealed in the observation
of the living legend Justice V.K. Krishna Iyer39. “To a policeman, the poor are de facto
criminals. They (the police) do not countenance dirty or crumpled clothes. Even if Mahatma
Gandhi is resurrected and walks along the streets today in his ‘naked fakir’ garb, he would
be arrested by the police on suspicion.”
36
Dr. K.I. Vibhuti, Criminal Justice System, Eastern Book Company, Lucknow, 1st ed., 2004.
37
State of Gujarat v. Hon’ble High Court of Gujarat,(1998) 7 SCC 392.
38
Chairman, Railway Board v. Chandrima Das, AIR 2000 SC 988.
39
Justice V.K. Krishna Iyer, The Indian Law-Dynamic Dimenstions of the Abstract, Universal Law Publishing
Co.Pvt. Ltd.

Since the central object of the legal process is to promote and maintain public confidence in
the administration of the justice, there is an urgent need for giving a well-defined status to the
victim of crime under the criminal law. It is necessary to give central role to the victims of
crime, as otherwise, the victim will remain disconnected and may develop a tendency to take
law into his own hands in order to seek revenge and pose serious threat to the maintenance of
Rule of Law, essentially for sustaining a democracy40. The Supreme Court also noticed ths
challenge Ramachandra Case where court expressed its concern for the plight of the victims
of crime who, if left without remedy might “resort to taking revenge by unlawful means
resulting in further increase in the crimes and criminals.”41
40
Dr. Justice A.S.Anand, Rights of the Victims of Crime- Need for Afresh Look”, Delhi Law Review, VOl.
XXXVI, 2004.
41
Ramachandra Rao v. State of Karnataka, (2002) 4 SCC 578.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
 BOOKS AND REPORTS
1. Devasal V.V. ‘Victimology and the role of victims in crime, Cochin University Law
Review, 1980.
2. Justice V.K. Krishna Iyer, The Indian Law-Dynamic Dimenstions of the Abstract,
Universal Law Publishing Co.Pvt. Ltd.
3. Criminal victimization & justice administration in India, International Journal of Law.
4. Dr. Justice A.S.Anand, Rights of the Victims of Crime- Need for Afresh Look”, Delhi
Law Review, VOl. XXXVI, 2004.
5. Dr. K.I. Vibhuti, Criminal Justice System, Eastern Book Company, Lucknow, 1st ed.,
2004.
6. K.D. Gaur, Criminal Law and Criminology, Deep and Deep Publications, 2000.
7. Law Commission of India Report, 1996
8. Wright, M. Justice for victims and offenders, Milton, Keynes, U.K. Open University
Press, 1991.
 STATUTORY MATERIAL
1. The Code of Criminal Proceduere, 1963.
2. The Criminal Law Amendment Act, 2008.
3. The Domestic Violence Act, 2005.
4. The Indian Penal Code, 1860.
5. The Motor Vehicles Act, 1985.
6. The Police Act, 1861.
7. The Probation of Offenders Act, 1958.
 WEBSITES
1. http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/192360/6/chapter%202.pdf.
2. https://soapboxie.com/government/The-Four-Theories-of-Victimization
3. http://www.racolblegal.com/criminal-victimization-and-justice-administration-in-
india
4. http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.429.8305&rep=rep1&type=
pdf

5. https://www.wisdomcrux.lawtimesjournal.in/index.php/2017/04/18/criminal-
victimization-justice-administration-india/.
6. http://jurip.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Gajendra-Misher.pdf
7. http://jurip.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Gajendra-Misher.pdf

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CRIMINOLOGY, PENOLOGY AND VICTIMOLOGY

AMANINDER JEET KAUR

VICTIMIZATION AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM 1

TABLE OF CASES ................................................................................................................... 3

VICTIMIZATION AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM 2

1. Balraj vs. State of U. P 42

VICTIMIZATION AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM 3

1. AC- Appeals Chamber

VICTIMIZATION AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM 4

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

─ Martin Luther King, Jr.

─Justice V.S. Malimath

VICTIMIZATION AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM 5

Administration of justice is a comprehensive term which is operated on the persons suspected

“Administration of justice, with particular reference to the criminal law, is a compendious

VICTIMIZATION AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM 6

Victims of crime are important players in criminal justice administration both as

VICTIMIZATION AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM 7

VICTIMIZATION AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM 8

2.1 DEFINITION OF VICTIM

According to New Webster's Dictionary ‘Victim’ means: “A person destroyed, sacrificed or

VICTIMIZATION AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM 9

(a) Are violations if criminal laws of state parties or abuse of power;

VICTIMIZATION AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM 10

VICTIMIZATION AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM 11

2.2 CLASSIFICATION OF VICTIMS

Wolfgang (1967) has outlined five types of victimization:

i. primary victimization, involving personalised or individual victims

VICTIMIZATION AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM 12

Von Hentig has given four types of victims:

VICTIMIZATION AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM 13

3.1 VICTIMIZATION AND ITS EFFECTS:

Victimization is a highly complex process encompassing a number of possible elements.

VICTIMIZATION AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM 14

3.2 KINDS OF VICTIMIZATION

The impact of the crime on the victim can be categorised as follows:

VICTIMIZATION AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM 15

3.3 THEORIES OF VICTIMIZATION:

VICTIMIZATION AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM 16

 THE VICTIM PRECIPITATION THEORY

 THE LIFESTYLE THEORY

VICTIMIZATION AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM 17

 DEVIANT PLACE THEORY

 ROUTINE ACTIVITY THEORY

VICTIMIZATION AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM 18

1. The availability of suitable targets,

2. The absence of capable guardians, and

3. The presence of motivated offenders.

3.4 INSTANCES OF VICTIMIZATION

VICTIMIZATION AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM 19

VICTIMIZATION AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM 20

 VICTIMIZATION OF DISABLED PERSONS

VICTIMIZATION AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM 21

 VICTIMS OF CUSTODIAL CRIMES

VICTIMIZATION AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM 22

 POOR VICTIMS OF USES AND ABUSES OF CRIMINAL LAW

VICTIMIZATION AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM 23

VICTIMIZATION AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM 24

VICTIMIZATION AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM 25

4. RESTORATIVE JUSTICE: THEORY AND PRACTICE

VICTIMIZATION AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM 26

i. identifying and taking steps to repair harm;

VICTIMIZATION AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM 27