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14 Mar 2020 3:04pm

State Legal Service Authority does not have the authority to control and regulate the amount of compensation given to the victim: Calcutta HC

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Calcutta High Court held that the State Legal Services Authority (SLSA) established under the Legal Services Authority Act has no authority to regulate and control the amount of compensation disbursed to a majority victim.

Single judge bench of Sabyasachi Bhattacharyya, ruling on a plea, said, “She or he has every right and the liberty to choose the mode of expending the compensation amount, as she/he feels appropriate for her rehabilitation after the trauma of the offence.”

The petitioner being a victim of human trafficking was served with an order from SLSA stating that 75% of the sum awarded was to be deposited in a monthly income scheme by the victim's girl with a nationalized bank in the name of the victim for a duration of 10 years, with the option of auto renewal, and to send a compliance within 40 days from the date of receipt of the victim's compensation.

While setting aside SLSA's impugned orders, Justice Bhattacharyya made an important observation that we are now in 2020 and not in ‘1984 (as George Orwell contemplated). As such, the disbursing authority's' Big Brother ' approach should be shunned and the victim should be free to spend on his / her choice the compensation given to her / him. He also noted that a system of dictating expenses and savings is contrary to Section 357A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, and would be an unconstitutional fetter to the victim's personal rights.


Tagged: Calcutta High Court State Legal Services Authority Sabyasachi Bhattacharyya Code of Criminal Procedure Section 357A
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