Victims Rights: Critical Analysis on Basis of Indian Judiciary (Paper)
- Riddhi Jain, NALSAR Hyderabad
- December 20, 2020
Content :
Victims of crime form an integral part of the Criminal Justice Systems. They are the one who sets the justice system in motion by reporting the crime that has been committed against them. Also, they form the most aggrieved party. However, they are left ignored and not provided with rights and protections. They are accorded with the status of the forgotten entity in the system. Justice BN Cardozo once said, "justice, though due to accused, is due to the accuser also. The concept of fairness must not be strained till it is narrowed to a filament. We are to keep the balance true.”
The Indian Criminal Justice System has also accorded the victim with the status as that only of informer and witness. The offence committed is taken as an offence against the state. To ensure a fair trial, the rights of the accused are well defined by the legislature. However, the rights of the victims to the crime are only identified by a few sections of the CrPc. In the same light, the onus has shifted to the judiciary to address the plight of the sufferers. In the paper, the author attempts to analyse how judicial activism has addressed the victims and prompted the state to provide for their rights. The author concludes through judicial activism in the area of victims rights has been an exemplar, it is limited to ensure an effective application of only those mechanisms already provided by the legislature and the Constitution. Thus a gap remains, where legislation specifically addressing
