ORDER :

1. The crime of rape can be regarded as the highest torture inflicted upon womanhood. It causes not only the physical torture to the body of the woman but it adversely affects her mental, psychological and emotional sensitivity. Therefore, rape is treated as the most heinous crime against the very basic human right and woman’s most important fundamental right, namely ‘the right of life’. It is less a sexual offence than an act of aggression aimed at degrading and humiliating women. Such cases are required to be handled by the Courts with utmost sensitivity and high responsibility.

2. An unfortunate incident occurred with a 14 years old minor petitioner on 11.11.2014, when rape was committed by the accused and an FIR No.391/2014 was registered against the accused with the Police Station Sikari, Bharatpur for the offences under Sections 323, 341 and 376-D of the Indian Penal Code (for short ‘IPC’) and after investigation, the accused was charge- sheeted for the offence under Section 376-D and Section 3/4 of the POCSO Act and he is facing trial before the Court of Special Judge, POCSO Act Cases, Bharatpur.

3. By way of filing the instant petition, a challenge has been led to the impugned order dated 15.03.2017, passed by the Full Time Secretary, District Legal Services Authority, Bharatpur (for short ‘the DLSA’) by which the application submitted by the petitioner seeking interim compensation for the incident of rape committed with her, pertaining to Sessions Case No. 128/2015 State Vs. Ayub has been rejected.

4. Aggrieved by the aforesaid order, the petitioner has approached this Court by way of filing the instant criminal writ petition seeking appropriate directions against the respondents for grant of interim compensation to the petitioner.

5. The contents of the petition indicate that the petitioner is a minor victim who was subjected to rape by the accused for which an FIR No. 391/2014 was registered with the Police Station Sikari, Bharatpur for the offences under Sections 323, 341 and 376-D of IPC.

6. After investigation of the matter, charge-sheet was submitted for the offences punishable under the POCSO Act and IPC, against the accused before the Court of Sessions Judge, POCSO Court, Bharatpur in Sessions Case No. 128/2015 wherein the statement of the petitioner-prosecutrix victim, was recorded on 11.07.2016 and thereafter statements of other prosecution witnesses were also recorded on subsequent dates.

7. At this stage of trial, the petitioner approached the DLSA by way of fling an application for grant of interim compensation pursuant to the Rajasthan Victim Compensation Scheme, 2011. The said application submitted by the petitioner has been rejected on a technical count that no certificate with regard to grant of interim compensation has been issued by the concerned Station House Officer/Magistrate and in absence of the same, the application submitted by the petitioner has been rejected.

8. It is a quite shocking and surprising on the part of the DLSA to reject the application of the petitioner who is a minor rape victim. Instead of rejecting the petitioner's application seeking interim compensation, the DLSA could have ask the concerned SHO or Magistrate to send a certificate with regard to the petitioner's entitlement for interim compensation but instead of doing so, the application submitted by the petitioner has been erroneously rejected only on the technical count of absence of the aforesaid certificate.

9. The need for compensating rape survivors was recognized by the Supreme Court of Bangladesh in the case of Al Amin Vs. State,  (1999) 19 BLD (HCD) 307 where it was held that “Mere punishment of the offenders of sexual assault cannot give much solace to the victim and her family members. Adequate monetary compensation may redress the wrong and damage caused to the victims and the family members. This has to be awarded independently having no nexus with the provision of imposition of fine embodied in the Penal Code