St

udyMat
eri
alsonPenol
ogyandVi
cti
mol
ogy
ChetankumarT. M.
AssistantProf
essor,
RajaLakhamgoudaLawCol l
ege,
Bel
agav i–590006.
Emai
l:chetancheak@gmai l
.com
Mobil
e:8095628987, 9242126593

Uni
t-I
I
NTRODUCTI
ONANDDEFI
NITI
ON

Eachsociet
yhasi t
sownwayofsoci alcont
rolforwhichitf
ramescert
ainlaws
and al
so menti
onst hesancti
onswiththem.Thesesanct ionsarenothi
ngbutt he
puni
shments.Thekindsofpuni
shmentgi
venaresurel
yinfl
uencedbytheki
ndofsociet
y
oneli
vesin.

“Thequestionofmor algui
ltofcriminalorofanyot herhumanbei nglieswit
hin
the domai nandmor alphil
osophy…theSt ateanditssyst
em ofcr iminalj
usti
cecando
nomor et hanadoptsuchmeasur estodef endt hecommuni tyagainstcri
minalsasare
reasonableinthemselvesandproport
ionatetothedangerthreatenedtosociet
y ”
.
-Enr
icoFer
ri
Theobjectofcr iminaljust
icei stoprotectt hesocietyagai nstt
hecriminalsby
punishingthem accordingt otheexistingpenallawi nt heState.Thus,thepunishment
canbeusedasamet hodofr educingt heincidenceofcr i
mi nalbehavi
oureitherby
deterr
ingthepotentialoffendersbyincapacitati
ngandpr eventi
ngt hem fr
om repeati
ng
theoffenceorbyr ef
ormi ngthem int
ol aw-abi
dingcitizens.

Or
igi
nofPenol
ogy

Thet
erm Penologywascoinedi
n1834,byFranci
sLi
eber,aGermanAmer
ican,
to
denot
easystem ofadmini
str
ati
ngpuni
shmenttotheconvi
ctedoff
ender
s.

ButCesareBeccar
ia’
s Essayon Cr
imeandPuni
shment
s,publ
i
shedi
n1764,
mar
ksthebegi
nni
ngoftheter
m Penol
ogy.

Asanor
gani
zedbr
anchofknowl
edge,penol
ogyi
sonl
ytwoandahal
fcent
uri
es
ol
d.

Def
ini
ti
onofPenol
ogy

Penol
ogyconcernwit
hthevar
iousaspectsofpunishments&penalpol
i
cies.The
var
ious mechanism ofpunishi
ng t
he offender
s are also st
udi
ed underpenology
.
Penologyisanextendedbr
anchofl
awenforcement.
 Accordingt o Mr.FrancisLieber
,Penologyisthatbranchofcri
minalsci ence
whichoccupiesitsel
fwi t
ht hepunishmentandt hecr
iminal
;notwit
hthedef i
nit
ionof
cr
ime,thesubj ectofaccount abi
li
ty&t heprovi
ngoft hecri
me,whichbelongt ot he
cr
iminall
awandt hepenalprocess.

Mr
.Fr
anci
sLi
eberi
scal
l
edast
hef
atherofPenol
ogy

Accordi
ngtoFair
chi
ld,“Penol
ogyi
sthatfi
eldofappl
i
edsoci
ologywhi
chdeal
s
wi
tht
heory&methodsofpunishment
sofcri
me.”

Dr
.P.K.Sen has sai
dthat
,“penologyoughttol
aydown t
he fundament
al
pri
ncipl
es t
o gui
de t
he Stat
e orsover
eign aut
hor
it
yinfr
ami
ng ofit
s scheme of
punishment
.”

Accor
di oEncar
ngt taReferenceLi
brar
y2005,“Penol
ogyisthest udyofpri
sons
andpuni
shmentmanagement .I
tstudi
esthetheor
y,sci
enti
fi
cstudyof,andpract
iceof
howcri
minal
sarepuni
shed,howpr i
sonsaremanaged,&howrehabi
li
tati
onishandled”
.

Accordi o Dean J.Champi

ng t on,“ prisonsar eal
so peni
tent
iar
ies.Thewor d
penitenti
arywascoi nedinthelate18th centurybecausecert
aingroupsbeli
evedthat
throughsolit
aryrel
igiousst
udyoftheBi ble,prisoner
swouldbecomepeni t
ent&ref
orm
theirbehavi
or.Thestudyoftheor
ies&pr acticeofpunishmenti
scall
edpenology”
.

Accor
dingt oM.S.Sabni
s,“Penol
ogyissomet
imesdescr
ibedasascienceof
puni
shment,
althoughonemayfindther
einmor
eofhumani
sm t
hanofsci
ence”
.

I
tmaybeconcl udedt hatbasi
call
ypenol ogyisthepartoft hecri
minolgy,which
sci
entif
icall
ystudiesthetreatmentofof f
enderst i
ll
theyarefr
eef r
om imposedsent ence.
Iti
ncludest hetheori
esofpuni shment,di
ff
erentki ndsofsentencingofprocess,penal
i
nstit
uti
ons,r ight
s ofpr isoners & allprovisions rel
ati
ng to correct
ion & soci al
rei
ntegrat
ionofpr i
soners.Italsoincl
udessomepor ti
onoftheVicti
mology.

Obj
ectofpenol
ogy

1.Topr
otectt
heSoci
etyagai
nstt
heCr
imi
nal
:

Thesupremeobjectofpenol
ogyistoprotectthesoci
etyagai
nstthecrimi
nal
sby
i
nfl
ict
ingpunishmentundertheexist
ingcri
minallaw.Thus,theHon’belSupremeCour
t
obser
v edthatsoci
aldef
enceisthecri
minol
ogicalfoundat
ionofpuni
shment .

2.Admi
nist
rat
ionofPenal
Measur
es:

Penologyisconcernedwi t
ht headmi ni
str
ationofpenalmeasur esandpenal
i
nst i
tut
ions.Thesecondconcernofthepenologyisthefactofadjudgedsocialdeviance,
thatis,cri
mei ssociet
ynotsomucht heindivi
dualdeviantorhi
sdev iantbeaviour.It
s
chiefaimispr ot
ect
ionofsociet
yagainstthedepredati
onsoft hedev i
ant,whi
chi salso
i
tssoci
alpur
pose.

3.Toi
nfl
i
cti
onofappr
opr
iat
ePuni
shment
:

Themai nobj
ectofpunishmentistomakei tappr
opri
ateandtobal
anceitsothat
i
tjustl
yf i
tsthegravi
tyoft heoffences.Att hesamet i
met hepuni
shmenti nf
li
cted
shoul
dnotbesuchast oshockt hepublicconsci
enceandthuswarpanddullt
hepubl i
c
soci
alsenseandappreci
ati
onofcrimeasev i
l
.

Sal
ientf
eat
uresoft
hePenol
ogy

Eminentcri
mi nol
ogistD.R.Taf
thasenumer
atedt
hef
oll
owi
ngsal
i
entf
eat
uresof
t
hepenol
ogy.Accordingtohim:

a)Penol
ogyi
sat
echni
queofpuni
shmentandr
efor
m ofcr
imi
nal
s.

b)I
tisthef
uncti
onoft hecri
minol
ogyt
of or
mul at
eaf
fect
ion&const
ruct
ion
t
echni
quetokeep&mai nt
ainsoci
alpeace&securi
ty.Theai
ms&object
soft hese
t
echni
quesaet
osuppr
esscrimeandcri
minal
.

c)Penology helps i
n est
abl
i
shi
ng and managi
ng t
he i
nst
it
uti
on ofr
efor
m,
pr
obat
ionandcor
recti
on.

d)besi
des,
hel
pingt
her
efor
m ofcr
imi
nal
s,penol
ogyal
sohel
psi
nbr
ingi
ngabout
soci
alhar
monyandpeace.

e)Penol
ogyfor
mulatesandappli
escer
tai
ncol
l
ect
ivepr
inci
plesf
ort
her
efor
m of
soci
etyi
ngeneral
ofcri
minalsi
npart
icul
ar.

Concl
usi
on

Puni
shment
Def
ini
ti
on,PurposeandObj
ect
I
ntr
oduct
ion

Puni
shmenti stheauthori
tati
vei mposit
ion ofan undesi
rabl
eorunpl easant
out
comeuponagr ouporindi
vi
dual,inresponsetoaparti
cularact
ionorbehav
iourthat
i
sdeemedunacceptabl
eorthr
eateningtosomenor m.

Theunpl
easanti
mposi
ti
onmayi
ncl
udeaf
ine,penal
ty,orconf
inement
,orbet
he
remov al
ordeni
alofsomet hi
ngpleasantordesi
rabl
e.Theindi
vi
dualmaybeaper son,
or
evenananimal.Theauthorit
ymaybeei theragrouporasingl
eperson,andpuni
shment
maybecar ri
edoutformall
yunderasy stem ofl
awori nf
ormall
yinotherki
ndsofsocial
sett
ingssuchaswithi
naf amily
.

Justifi
cati
onsforpunishmentincluderet
ributi
on,det
errence,rehabi
l
itat
ion,and
i
ncapacit
ation.Thelastcouldincl
udesuchmeasur esasisolati
on,inordertopr ev
ent
t
hewr ongdoer'shavi
ngcontactwit
hpot enti
alvi
cti
ms, ort
heremov alofahandi norder
t
omaket heftmoredif
fi
cult
.

Def
ini
ti
onofPuni
shment

Thet erm punishmenthasnotbeendef i

nedintheIndi
anPenalCode.However
,
Oxfor
d Di ct
ionar
ydef i
nes“ puni
shmentmeanst o makean off
endersufferforan
of
fence”.itcanbesai dt hatPunishmenti
sthepenalti
esimposedbyt heStateon
i
ndivi
duals,whov i
olatesthecri
minallaw.
.

D.R.Taft:Hedefi
nespunishmentastheconsci
ousinf
li
cti
onuponadi
stur
bing
i
ndi
vi
dual
ofundesi
redexper
iencessol
elyi
nthei
nter
estofhi
swelfare.

Sut
her
land :Accor
dingt
ohi
m puni
shmenti
s

a)Punishmenti
sinf
li
ctedbythegroupi
nit
scor
por
atecapaci
tyupononewhoi
s
r
egar
dedast hememberoft hesamegroup.

b)Puni
shmenti
nvolv
espainorsuffer
ingproducedbydesi
gnandj
ust
if
iedby
somev
aluet
hatt
hesuf
fer
ingisassumedt
ohav e.

W.C.Reckless:Punishmenti sameansofsoci alcont

rol
.Agr oupseeksr
edress
forawr ong,aninjur
yorforav i
olati
onoflawandcust om.Societ
y,commonweal t
hor
thegroupmeani nginthi
si nstancepersoninauthor
it
y .
.Concei
vesofpunishmentasa
devi
cetohol dpersoninl
ine,tomai nt
ainst
atusquotoinduceconformity
.

Fer
ri:Puni
shmenti
sal
egal
det
err
ent

Dr
.M. J.Set
hana :Puni
shmentis some sor
tofsoci
alcensur
e and not
necessar
il
ythei
nvol
vi
ngori
nfl
i
cti
onofphy
sicalpai
n.

EWestermark:Puni
shmenti
sli
mit
edtosuchsuff
eri
ngasisi
nfl
i
cteduponthe
off
enderinadefi
nit
ewayby,ori
nthenameofsoci
etyofwhichhei
sapermanentor
temporar
ymember.

Si
rWal t
erMoberly:Whil
eacceptingthedefi
nit
ionofpuni
shmentasgi
venby
Gr
oti
ous,suggest
sthatpuni
shmentpr
e-supposest
hat:

1)Whati
sinf
li
ctedi
sani
l
l,t
hati
ssomet
hingunpl
easant

2)I
tisasequel
tosomeactwhi
chi
sdi
sappr
ovedbyaut
hor
it
y

3)Ther
eissomecor
respondencebet
weent
hepuni
shment&t
heactwhi
chhas
 ev
okedi
t;

4)Puni
shmenti
sinf
li
cted,
thati
tisi
mposedbysomeone’
svol
unt
aryact
;

5)Punishmentisi
nfl
i
ctedupont
hecr
imi
nal
,tobeanswer
abl
eforhi
m &f
orhi
s
wrongdoings

Component
sandI
ngr
edi
ent
sofPuni
shment

TheHon’bl
eGujar
atHighCourtexpl
ainedt
hecomponentsandi
ngr
edi
ent
sof
puni
shmentandheldt
hefol
l
owingtenmostimport
antcomponent
sandi
ngr
edi
ent
sof
puni
shment.

i
) Puni
shmentisappl
iedbyempl
oyi
ngcoer
cionandcanbeenf
orcedev
enagai
nst
thewi
ll
ofthepuni
shed.

i
i
) Puni
shmenti
sameasur
eadopt
ed&enf
orcedbyt
heSt
ate.

i
i
i) Puni
shmentorl
i
mit
sofpuni
shmentar
est
ipul
atedi
nadv
ancebyt
heSt
ate.

i
v) Puni
shmentisappl
i
edbycompet
entor
gansoft
heSt
atei
napr
oper
lyconst
it
uted
l
egalpr
ocedure.

v
) Puni
shmenti
s gener
all
ybel
oved t
o be di
rect
lyenf
orced on each i
ndi
vi
dual
per
sonal
l
y.

v
i) Punishmentisadisadv
antagedesignedtoactasanegat
ive&tohur
tther
ecei
ver
ofthepunishmentmental
l
y ,emot
ionall
y,phy
sical
l
yorfi
nanci
all
y

v
ii
) Puni
shmenti
stheconsequencesofcr
ime

v
ii
i) Puni
shmenti
sappl
i
edi
nthename&def
enceoft
hesoci
ety

i
x) Puni
shmenti
sdi
sappr
oval
&expr
essescondemnat
ionbyt
heSt
ate

x) Pr
event
ionofcr
imei
sthemai
nreasonf
ort
heexi
stenceofpenal
prov
isi
ons.

Pur
poseofPuni
shment

I
tisagr eedbyalmostallpenologi
ststhatpunishmentisnecessaryinallthe
ci
vil
i
zedcount riesf
ortheoffenders.Thev ar
iousgoalsofcriminalpunishmentmay
confl
i
ct wi t
h one another.Consequently,punishment may per petuat
e crimi
nal
di
spositi
onsandbehav i
oursratherthaneli
minatethem.Purposesoft hepunishment
maybedi scussedasunder
.

a)Retr
ibut
ionispr i
mer easonforpunishment:Punishmentf orr ef
ormisintended
tobenefi
ttheof fender&societybychangingtheof fenderintoacontr
ibutorto
soci
ety. Punishmenti sint
endedt obenefitsociet
ybydi scour
agi
ngwoul d-be
off
enders.Punishmenttoextractcompensationisint
endedt obenefi
tthev i
cti
m
 oft
heof
fender
.

b)Maint
ainpeaceandharmonyinsociet
y:Thegoalofdetermini
ngthepuni
shment
i
st omaintai
npeaceandhar monyinthesociety
.Inret
ali
ati
onforwrong-
doi
ng,
soci
etyseekstopuni
shindi
vi
dualswhoviol
atetherul
es.

c)Oneofthepurposetoawar
dsentenceisdet
err
ent:theHon’
bleGujaratHigh
Cour
thel
dthatoneoft
hepur
posesofpuni
shmentist
ohavei
tsdeter
renteff
ect.

i
v)Communi tymustbebenef i
ciar
yoftheCri
minalJusticeSyst
em :Thebasic
objectofCr iminalLaw isto suppr
esscr
iminalenterpri
se.Soci
etymustbe
protected f
rom transgr
essi
onsofLaw.To achievet hisend,theremustbe
correspondencebetweenthecr
imecommitt
ed,andthepunishmentimposed.

v)Assurancet ot hev i
cti
m and theSoci
ety:Theneed fori
mposing penal
sanct
ions in adequate measur
es was hi
ghli
ght
ed i
n cat
ena ofcases and
observedthatjust
icetothevict
im andt
hecommunitymustbeassur
edbyt he
cri
minaljust
icesystem.

v)Pr
i otect
ionoftheSociety:TheU.N.CongressonPreventi
onofCr imesand
TreatmentofOffenders(1953)obser
vedthatthepur
poseandj ust
if
icati
onofa
sentenceofimprisonmentorasi mil
armeasureisul
ti
matelytoprotectsoci
ety
againstcri
me.

vi
i)Punishmenti sPhy si
cal,notmer el
ypsy chological:Notallst
epsthatwet ake
tor eform an of f
ender,t o det
erot herof f
ender s,to compensatev i
cti
msby
offenders,ortomakeanof fendersufferr
etri
but i
onar eactsofpuni
shmentaswe
hav edefinedit.Theycoul dallbecalledactsofpuni shmentaccordi
ngt oother
commondef i
niti
ons,butiftheydonoti nv
olvephy sicalharmtoanoffenderorhis
propertyagainsthiswill
,theyarenotthesubj ectoft hi
sdiscussi
on.

Obj
ectofPuni
shment

TheHon’bl
eSupremeCourtinA.
RAntulay
’scaset
hattheinter
estofthesoci
ety
bei
ngoneoft heobj
ectsbehi
ndpenalst
atut
esenactedf
orlargergoodofthesociet
y.
Whil
epunishi
ngtheof
fenderi
tshoul
dbekepti
nmi nd.

Thefourmainobject
swhi chpuni
shmentofanof fenderbyt
heStatei
sint
ended
t
oachiev ear
edeterr
ence,preventi
on,r
etri
bution,r
efor
mationandrest
orat
ioni
swell
r
ecognized&doesnotappeartobeopent odissent.

I
ni tsdet
errentphase,punishmentiscalcul
atedtoactasawar ningtoother
s
againstindul
genceintheant i
-soci
alactforwhichitisv i
sit
ed.I
tact
sasapr ev
entiv
e
becauset hei
ncarcerat
ionoftheof f
ender
,whil
ei tl
asts,makesiti
mpossiblef
orhimto
repeattheoff
endingact.

Secondl
y,t
hequest
ionastowhichoft
hevari
ousobject
sofpunishmentshould
bethebasisofapenalprovi
sionhas,i
nthever
ynatur
eoft hings,t
obel ef
ttot he
l
egi
slat
ure& itisnotforthecourt
st osaywhichofthem shallbegivenprior
ity
,
 pr
eponder
anceorpr
edomi
nance

Thet hir
dreasonf l
owsf r
om acaref
ulstudyofthepenallaw prev
alenti
nt he
count
ry,especi
all
ythatcontai
nedintheI
PCwhichbri
ngsoutclear
lyt
hattheseveri
tyof
eachpunishmentsancti
onedbyt hel
awisdi
rect
lypr
opor
tional
totheseri
ousnessofthe
off
enceforwhichiti
sawar ded.

I
ft he r
efor
mative aspectof punishmentwer et o be gi
ven pri
ori
ty and
pr
edominancei
neverycasethemurderermaydeserv
e, i
nagivensetofci
rcumstances,
nomorethanasixmonth’speri
odofincar
cerati
onwhil
eat hi
efmayhavet obetrai
ned
i
ntobet
terwaysofl
if
efrom thesoci
alpoi
ntofviewoveralongper
iod.

Appr
oachest
otheReact
ionofCr
ime:

Approachest
other
eact
ionoft
hecr
imemayal
sobedescr
ibedasphi
l
osophyof
t
hepuni
shment.

a) Punit
iveapproach:Thef i
rstist hetradi
ti
onalreact
ion,ofauni ver
salnatur
e,
whichcanbet er
medasa‘ puni
ti
veappr oach’
.Itr
egardsthecriminalasabasical
l
ybad
&dangeroussortofperson&theobjectunderthi
sapproachist oinfl
i
ctpuni
shmenton
theoff
ender
.

b) Ther apeuticAppr
oach :Thesecond,ofr elati
vel
yr ecentorigi
n,consi
dersthe
cri
minalasav ict
im ofci r
cumst
ancesandt hepr oductofv ar
iousfact
orswithi
nthe
cri
minalandthesociet
y.Thi
sapproach,si
nceitregardsthecr i
minalasasickperson
requi
ri
ngtreat
ment ,
ist
ermedasa‘ther
apeuti
capproach’.

c)Pr event
ive appr oach :Final
ly,ther
ei sa prevent
ive approach which i
nst
ead of
focusingtheat tentiononpar t
icul
aroffender
s,seekstoel iminat
et hosecondit
ions
whichar er
esponsi bleforcr
imecausat i
on.

Concl
usi
on

I
nter
nat
ionalCommi
tment
s
I
ntr
oduct
ion

Impri
sonmentandothermeasurewhichresul
tincutt
ingofanof
fenderfr
om the
out
sideworldar
eaf f
li
cti
vebytheveryfactoft
akingfrom t
hepersont
her i
ghtofself
-
det
erminat
ionbydepri
vi
nghim ofhi
sli
berty
.

Atinternati
onallev
el,wehav ei nter
nat
ionalbodi
est o establ
ish a mini
mum
standard,whichshouldbepr otect
edbyt henation-
member s.Theref
ore,theyhaveto
rati
fythedocument spreparedbyt hesebodies,li
keUnitedNat i
ons,etc.Indiahas
rati
fi
edmanyoft hem;therel
evantcommi t
mentsmaybedescr ibedasfoll
ows:
1.Uni
ver
salDecl
arat
ionofHumanRi
ght
s,1948

Itwasadoptedon10th December
,1948,byal lt
heSt at
eMember softheUnited
Nati
ons.ThisDeclar
ati
on declares30 pr
inci
plesofal lhuman beings,wi
thoutany
di
scri
minat
ion,
all
theStatemember shavetomai nt
ainthesepri
nci
plesofi
ndi
vidual
s.

Ar
ti
cle5oft
heUDHR,
1948deal
swith,
“Nooneshal
lbesubj
ect
edt
otor
tur
eort
o
cr
uel
,i
nhumanordegr
adi
ngt
reat
mentorpuni
shment
.

2.I
nter
nat
ionalCov
enantonCi
vi
landPol
it
icalRi
ght
s,1966

I
CCPR,was adopted byUN Gener alAssemblyResol
uti
on 2200 A (XXI)of
December16,1966andcamei ntoforcewi
theff
ectfr
om March23,1976.Al
lpart
iesto
thi
sCovenantassur
ether
ight
sr egardi
ngpuni
shmentandcorr
ect
ionoftheof
fenders.

Art
icl
e6:Ever
yhumanbei
nghast
hei
nher
entr
ightt
oli
feandt
hisr
ightshal
lbe
pr
otect
edbylaw.

Ar
ti
cle7:Nooneshallbesubject
edtotort
ureort
ocr
uel
,inhumanordegr
adi
ng
tr
eatmentorpunishment.I
nparticul
ar,nooneshallbesubj
ectedwit
houthisfr
ee
consenttomedi
calorsci
ent
if
icexperi
mentat
ion.

Art
icl
e9(
5):Anyonewhohasbeent hev i
cti
m ofunl
awf
ular
restordet
ent
ion
shal
lhav
eanenfor
ceabl
eri
ghtt
ocompensat
ion.

Arti
cle8(3):Incount
ri
eswher eimpri
sonmentwit
hhardlabourmaybei mposed
asapunishmentf oracri
me,theperf
ormanceofhardl
abourinpursuanceofasentence
tosuchpunishmentbyacompet entcourti
snoti
ncl
uded,for
ceorcompul sor
ylabour
.

3.TheSt
andar
dMi
nimum Rul
esf
ort
heTr
eat
mentofPr
isoner
s,1955

Itwasadoptedbyt hefirstUnitedNati
onsCongr essonthe“Pr
event
ionofCri
me
andtheTreat
mentofOf f
enders”,hel
datGenev aonAugust30,1955,&approvedbythe
EconomicandSocialCouncilofUni t
edNations,on31stJul
y1957,byi
tsResolut
ion663
C(XXIV)of31stJul
y,1957.

Theser ul
esarenoti ntendedtodescri
bei ndet
ailamodelsy st
em ofpenal
i
nstit
utions.But,
theyseekonly
, onthebasi
softhegener
alconsensusofcont empor
ary
thoughtandt heessenti
alel
ement softhemostadequat
esystemsoft oday,tosetout
whati sgenerall
yacceptedasbei nggoodpr i
nci
pleandpracti
ceinthet reatmentof
pri
soner sandthemanagementofi nst
it
uti
ons.

a)Ai
m ofPuni
shmentt
oImpr
isonment

b)Tr
eat
mentofOf
fender
s

c)Cat
egor
izat
ionofPr
isoner
s
 d)Accommodat
ion

e)Per
sonal
hygi
ene

f
) Cl
othi
ngandbeddi
ng

g)g)FoodandWat
er

h)h)Medi
cal
Ser
vices

i
)i)Di
sci
pli
neandPuni
shment

j
)j)I
nst
rument
sofRest
rai
nt

k)k)I
nfor
mat
iont
oandCompl
aint
sbyPr
isoner
s

l
)l)Cont
actwi
tht
heout
sideWor
ld

m)m)Li
brar
ywi
thbooks

n)n)Fr
eedom ofRel
i
gion

o)o)WomenCel
lshal
lbemai
ntai
nedbyWomen

p)p)Pr
isonl
abour

q)q)Educat
ionandRecr
eat
ion

r
)r)Soci
alr
elat
ionsandaf
ter
car
e

s)s)Rul
esf
ori
nsaneandment
all
yabnor
mal
pri
soner
s

t
)t)Rul
esf
orundert
ri
alpr
isoner
s

u)u)Rul
esf
orCi
vi
lPr
isoner
s.

Basi
cPr
inci
plesf
ort
heTr
eat
mentofPr
isoner
s,1990

68th PlenaryMeet i
ngoft heGener alAssemblyofUni tedNat ons,14th December
i ,
1990passedaResol ution.TheGener alAssembl y,bear i
ngi nmi ndt hel ong-
standing
concer n oft he United Nat ions fort he humanizati
on ofcr i
minalj ustice and the
protectionofhumanr ights,andal sothatsoundpolici
esofcr imepr eventionandcontr ol
areessent ialt oviabl
epl anningf oreconomi candsoci aldev elopment ,recogni
zingthat
theSt andar dMi ni
mum Rul esf ortheTreatmentofPr i
soner s,adoptedbyt heFir
stUnited
Nat i
onsCongr essont hePr ev enti
onofCr imeandheTr eatmentofOf f
enders,ofgreat
value&i nfluencei nthedev elopmentofpenal pol
icy&pr actice.

TheUni t
edNat i
onsdesir
ingt oreflecttheperspecti
vethatthef unct
ionofthe
cri
minaljusti
cesy st
em ist
ocont r
ibut
et osaf eguar
dingthebasicvaluesandnormsof
soci
ety,recognizedtheuseful
nessofdr afti
ngadecl arat
ionont hehumanr i
ght
sof
pri
soners.
TheBasi
cPr
inci
plesf
ort
heTr
eat
mentofPr
isoner
sar
easf
oll
ows:

a)Allpri
soner
sshal
lbetreat
edwi
tht
her
espectduet
othei
rinher
entdi
gni
tyand
valueashumanbei
ngs.

b)Ther eshallbenodi scri

minat
iononthegr oundsofr
ace,col
our
,sex,l
anguage,
rel
igion,poli
ti
calorotheropi
nion,
nat
ionalorsoci
alor
igi
n,pr
oper
ty,
bir
thorother
status.

c)I
tis,however
,desi
rabl
etorespectt
herel
igi
ousbeli
efsandcul
turalprecept
sof
t
hegrouptowhichpri
soner
sbelong,
wheneverl
ocal
condit
ionsorequir
e.

d)Ther esponsibi
li
tyofpri
sonsforthecustodyofpri
soner
s&f ortheprotect
ionof
societyagainstcri
meshallbedischar
gedi nkeepi
ngwithaSt ate’
sothersoci
al
objecti
ve& i tsfundamentalr
esponsi
bil
iti
esforpromotingthewel l
-bei
ngand
developmentofal lmembersofsoci
ety.

e)Exceptforthosel
imit
ati
ont hataredemonstrabl
ynecessi
tat
edbythefactof
i
ncarcer
ati
on,allpri
soners shal
lretai
nt he human r
ight
s and f
undament
al
fr
eedomssetoutintheUniv
ersalDecl
arat
ionofHumanRights.

f
) Al
lpr
isoner
sshallhav
etherighttot
akeparti
ncult
uralact
ivi
ti
esandeducat
ion
ai
medattheful
ldevel
opmentofthehumanper
sonal
ity
.

g)Ef
for
tsaddr
essedt
otheabol
i
tionofsol
i
tar
yconf
inementasapuni
shment
.

h)Condit
ion shal
lbe created enabli
ng pr
isonersto under
take meani
ngfuland
remunerated employmentwhi ch wil
lf aci
li
tat
et heirrei
ntegr
ati
on intot he
countr
y’slabourmarketandper mitt
hem tocontribut
et othei
rownf inancial
supportandtothatofthei
rfamil
ies.

i
) Pr
isoner
sshallhaveaccesst
ot heheal
th ser
vicesavail
abl
eint
hecount
ry
wi
thoutdi
scr
iminat
ionont
hegr
oundsoft
hei
rlegalsit
uat
ion.

j
) Withtheparti
cipat
ionandhelpofthecommuni t
yandsoci ali
nst
itut
ion,andwith
dueregardtot heint
erest
sofv i
cti
ms,fav
orablecondit
ionsshallbecreatedfor
the r
eintegr
ati
on oft he ex-
pri
sonerinto soci
ety undert he bestpossible
condi
tions.

k)Theabov
epr
inci
plesshal
lbeappl
i
edi
mpar
ti
all
y.

TheAsi
anandPaci
fi
cConf
erenceofCor
rect
ionalAdmi
nist
rat
ors:

In1980,theAsi
anandPaci
fi
cConf
erenceofCor
rect
ional
Admini
str
ator
s(APCCA)
t
h
wasestabl
ished.The26 APCCAwashel
dinNewZealandandtheagendait
emsofthi
s
conf
erencewere:

i
) Nat
ional
Repor
tonCont
empor
aryi
ssuesi
nCor
rect
ions

i
i
) Mai
ntenanceofI
nst
it
uti
onal
Order
i
i
i) Thewel
l
-bei
ngofCor
rect
ional
Staf
f;and

i
v) I
mpr
ovi
ngt
heRei
ntegr
ati
onofOf
fender
sint
otheCommuni
ty

Amnest
yInt
ernat
ional

AmnestyInter
nati
onalisanorgani
zati
onworki
ngforthewelf
areofprisoner
s.
Thei deaforAmnestyInter
nati
onalwasbornwhenBri
ti
shlawyerPet
erBenensonand
otherpoli
ti
calact
ivi
stsl
aunchedappeal
forAmnest
yin1961.

Theori
ginalmissionoftheOr gani
zat i
onwasbasedonadoct ri
neadoptedbythe
UnitedNati
onsi n1948t orecognizethef undamentalr
ight
sofallpeopl
eregardl
essof
race,col
or,sex,language,rel
igi
on,polit
icalorotheropini
on,nat
ionalorsoci
alori
gin,
propert
y,bi
rt
horot herstat
us.

I
n1972,AmnestyI
nter
nat
ionalmountedawor
ldwi
decampai
gnt
oabol
i
shal
l
t
ort
urecommit
tedbyl
awenfor
cementoff
ici
als.

In1974,t
heOr
ganizat
ionstart
edtheUrgentAct
ionNet
wor
ktomakephonecal
l
s
andsendlet
ter
sonbehal
fofprisoner
s,whoneedimmediat
emedi
calorl
egal
hel
p.

By 1990,AmnestyInter
nati
onalhad inv
est
igat
ed mor et han 40,
000 cases
i
nvol
vi
ng pr i
soner
s ofconsci
ence.Inthe same year
,t he organi
zat
ion dev
eloped
numeroustaskfor
cest
oconcentr
ateonspeci
fi
chumanrightsviol
ati
ons.

I
n 1996, Amnest yI nternat
ional l
aunched t
he campai gn f or per
manent
I
nter
nat
ionalCr
iminalCourt
,therefor
e,bytheRomeStatut
eoftheI nt
ernati
onalCri
minal
Cour
twasadopt edinJul y
,1998.I n2000,Amnest yI
nternat
ionallaunchedthethir
d
Campai
gnagainstTortur
e.

In 2004,AmnestyInt
ernati
onallaunched theStop ViolenceAgai
nstWomen
campaignandi n2007,Amnest yInt
ernati
onalhadmor et han2. 2mil
li
onmembers,
suppor
ter
sandsubscriber
sinov er150countriesandterr
it
oriesinever
yregi
onoft
he
worl
d

Concl
usi
on

Theor
iesofPuni
shment
I
ntr
oduct
ion

Sentencingthegui l
typersonismosti mpor t
ant.Theori
esofpuni shmentar e
many– r efor
mat i
ve,preventi
ve,deterr
ent,retr
ibuti
veanddenunci atory.Retr
ibut
ive
anddenunci atorytheor
ieshavet heirpotencyint hecivil
izednat
ions.Deterr
entand
preventi
vesent enceissomet imesnecessar yinthei nt
erestofsociety
.Themoder n
tr
end placesemphasi son t hereformation ofan of fenderand hisrehabi
li
tati
on.
Reformationandnotr et
ributi
onisthesentencinglodestar.
 -Hon’
bleSupr
emeCour
t
Cri
mesar ecommi ttedev er
ywhereinthewor l
d,sononeoft hephi l
osophiesof
tr
eatmentcancompl et
elyremov ethecri
mef rom t
hesociety.But,therewillal
way sbe
widev ar
iati
onsi ntheintensi
tywi t
hallcivi
l
izedStatesfrom centur i
es.Butwi ththe
changi ngpatternofmoder nsocieti
estheapproachofpenologisttowar dspunishment
hasal sounder gonearadicalchange.Thoughopini
onshav ediff
eredwi thregar
dt othe
punishmentofof f
endersv ar
yingf r
om age-oldtr
aditi
onal
ism tor ecentmoder ni
sm,
broadlyspeaking,fi
vetypesofv i
ewscanbedi sti
nct
lyfoundtoprevail.

1)Ret
ri
but
iveTheor
yofPuni
shment

Retr
ibuti
onmeanssomet hi
ngdoneorgi v
ent osomebodyaspuni shmentor
vengeancef orsomethi
ngheorshehasdone.I ti
sajustretr
ibut
ionfort
heircri
me.This
theorysayst or et
urnthesamei nj
urytothewrongdoers,whichhehadcommi tt
ed
againstthev i
cti
m.Itsays“t
itfortat
”.Ret
ri
but
ioni
softenassimilat
edtorevenge,buta
publi
cratherthanaprivat
erevenge.

Retr
ibuti
vetheorypuni
shesoffender
sbecausetheyaredeser
vingofpuni
shment.
I
tsaystooffender“youhavecausedharmt osoci
ety
,nowy oumustpaybackt osoci
ety
f
orthathar
m.Youmustat oneforyourmisdeeds”
.
Retri
buti
onispr obablytheoldestgoalofcr i
minalpuni
shment
.TheBaby l
oni
an
CodeofHammur abi,datingfrothe18th cent
uryBC,contai
nedthi
sprinci
pleofequal
ret
ali
ation.Simi
larl
y,thelawsoft heancientHebrewsdemanded“aneyeforaneyeand
atoothf oratooth”.Thecor por
ealpunishmentusedinEnglandandAmer i
cancol
onies
werebasedonr et
ri
but i
on.

ImmanualKant ,phil
osopher( 1724-
1804)believedt hat
,murderersoughttobe
execut
ed and t hatitwoul d be wr ong nott o executet hem,regardless ofthe
ci
rcumstances.Evenifaciv
ilsociet
ywast odissolv
ei t
selfbycommonagr eementofal
l
i
tsmember s,thelastmurdererremainingi
nprisonmustf ir
stbeexecuted.

Ov erthet i
memanypeopl ecamet obeli
evethatthebr utalpunishment simposed
onoff endersf arexceededtheseri
ousnessofthecr imes.Fr enchnov el
istVict
orHugo
sati
ri
zed cr i
mi nalpunishmentin France duri
ng t he 19th centur
yi n hi
s novelLa
Miserables( 1862),inwhichacharacterissent
encedt o20y ear
sofhar dlabourafter
steal
ingal eafofbr eadtofeedhi
sfamilyandwhent hechar acterl
aterescapes, of
fi
cials
houndhi mf ory ears.

I
fjusti
cemeansgivi
ngevery
bodywhatt
heydeser
ve,andi
fof
fender
sdeser
ve
r
etr
ibut
ion,
theni
tisunj
ustt
ofai
ltopuni
sht
hem.
Ev
aluat
ionofTheor
y

I
tmustbest atedthatthetheor
yofr et
ri
buti
onhasi tsori
gini
nthecrudeanimal
i
nsti
nctofi ndiv
idualorgroupt oretal
i
atewhenhur t.Themoder nvi
ew,however,does
notfavourthiscontenti
onbecausei ti
sneit
herwisenordesi r
abl
e.Onthecontr
ary,i
tis
general
lycondemnedasv indi
cti
veapproachtotheoffender
.

Cr
it
ici
sm ofRet
ri
but
iveTheor
y

Thecri
ti
csoft hi
stheor
ysaythatret
ributi
vepunishmenti
sbar bari
candbrut
al.
Bentham inhisuti
li
tari
antheor
ycrit
ici
zesretri
buti
vepunishmentseriousl
y.Sal
mond
sayscrimesarenotsimil
art
othoseofdebi
torcreditaccount
sinthebank.

Theprimar
yf unct
ionoft hecri
minaljusti
cesy
stem i
st opunishthewr ongdoer,
andt oseet hatthesimilartypesofthecr i
meshouldnotr e-occuri
nf ut
ure,andt o
prev
entt hecrimi
nalbehav iourinthesociety,andt
oseet hatpeaceandpr osper
it
y
shouldprev
ailint
hesociety.

2)Det
err
entTheor
yofPuni
shment

Deterrentordet errencemeanssomet hingthatdeterssomebodyorsomet hi

ng,
restr
ainany onef rom t akingaction,todiscouragesomebodyf r
om t aki
ngact i
onor
preventsomet hinghappeni ng,especi
all
ybymaki ngpeopl ef eelafrai
doranxi ous.In
otherwor dsiti sa‘ warning’,‘
preventi
ve’
,‘r
estr
icti
ve’
,‘r
estraini
ng’,or‘li
miti
ng’someone
foranypar t
icularact .Thewor d‘
deter’means‘abstai
nfrom act i
on’,and‘todeter
’means
‘
av arietyofmot i
v emaydet eranyonef r
om anunder t
aking’.Italsomeans‘ theprudent
andf earfulareal ikeeasilytobedet err
ed.

Thisisal
soknownasUt i
li
tar
ianPrevent
iveTheory.Jer
emyBent ham (1748-
1832)
saidthat,Iwil
laddr
esstheri
ghtto punishperseafterIconsidert
hepr act
icalr
easons
forpunishmenttoref
orm anddet
errence.Hewast hefounderofthi
stheory

Ther
ear
etwot
ypesofdet
err
ence

- Speci
fi
c

- Gener
al

Specif
icdet
er r
encer ef
erstothepr event
iveeff
ectofaspecifi
cpunishment,
such
asl
argefineandal ong-ter
m prisonsentence,onaspecifi
cpunishmentforcommi t
ti
ng
aspeci
fi
ccr i
me.Thist heor
ybelievesthatimposingasuffi
cient
lysever
epunishmenton
anoff
enderwill
deterthatindi
vidualfr
om f ut
urecri
meandsetal essonforother
s.

Generaldeter
rence i
sint
ended t
o appl
yt o any per
son who contemplates
committ
ing a cr
ime.Forexample,advocat
es ofthe death sent
ence bel
iev
et hat
i
mpositi
onofsuchasev er
epuni
shmentonmurderer
swi l
lpreventother
sfrom ki
ll
ing
peopl
e.

The ut
il
it
ari
an t
heor
ysay
sthatgr
eat
estpl
easur
eoughtt
o be gi
ven t
othe
greatestnumberofpeopl
e.Thepeoplewil
lcal
cul
atet
hei
rev
eryactwi
tht
hei
rpr
ofi
t.No
personcandoanyact ,
whichisnotpr
ofi
tabl
eforhi
m.

Gener
all
y,deterr
enceisconcernedwithot
herwould-
beoff
ender
s.Theideaisto
makeexampleoft heactualoffenders sot
hatotherwi
l
llear
nfrom t
hei
rexperi
ences
andnotgett
emptedi nt
ocriminalacti
vi
ty.

I
ti s bel
i
eved thatthe i
nfl
ict
ion ofpainisthe f
orm ofpunishmentorit
s
appr
ehensi
ongeneral
lykeeppeopleawayf r
om commi
tti
ngtheact
sfor
biddenbyl
aw.
Thistheorysuggestt
hatthepuni shmentshouldbeexecutedopenl
y,notwithi
n
thefourwalls.Thist
ypeofpunishmentwi lldef
ini
tel
ycr
eatet
ension,f
eari
nthemajor i
ty
ofpeopl e.Thistheorysaysthatstrictandsev erepuni
shmentsshouldbei mposed
dependingupont henatur
eofoffences.

Ev
aluat
ionofTheor
y

One all
eged benefi
tofpunishmenti sthat,itdeters potentialoff
enders.It
defi
nit
elydeterssomepeopl efr
om breaki
ngsomel aws.Itisanessent i
aldeter
rentt
o
thebreaki
ngofv i
cti
mlesscrimi
nall
aws.Howev er,out
lawingvicti
ml ess‘cri
mes’does
notnecessari
lyreducethenumberofsuch‘cr
imes’
.

I
tisafactt
hatdet er
renttheoryissomewhathelpinginreduci
ngthecr
imesbuti
t
i
snotveryeff
ecti
ve.Theef f
ectofenf orcementofpersonall
awi smoreimport
antt
han
t
hepresenceofprovi
sionsforpunishmentinthestat
utebooks.

3)Pr
event
iveTheor
yofPuni
shment

Preventiv
emeanswi ththepur poseofpr eventi
ngsomet hi
ngusedordev isedto
stop somet hing fr
om happening,ort o st
op peopl efrom doing part
icularthing.
Preventi
vet heorypuni
shestheoffenders,t
opr eventthefutur
ecr i
meinthesoci ety
,by
i
solati
ngt hecr i
minal
sfrom soci
ety.Thetheorybel i
evest
hat,thegoalofpunishmenti s
rest
raint
.

Prevent
ivephil
osophyofpunishmentisbasedontheproposi
ton“
i nott
oavenge
cri
mebuttopr eventi
t”.I
tpr
esupposesthatneedforpuni
shmentofcr
imeari
sessi
mply
outofsoci
alnecessit
ies.

Thistheoryseekst o pr
eventther ecur
renceofcrimebyi ncapaci
tat
ing t
he
offender
s.Thesuppor ter
soft hi
sphilosophybeli
evesthatimpri
sonmenti sthebest
modeofpuni shmentbecausei tserv esasan ef f
ecti
vedeter
rentand i sausef ul
preventi
vemeasur estoo.Accordi
ngtot hesuppor t
ersofthistheory,murder
ersare
hangednotmer elytodeterother
sf r
om meet i
ngsi mil
arend,buttoel i
minatesuch
dreadfulof
fendersfr
om soci
ety.

I
sol
ati
ngcr
imi
nal
sfr
om societ
ythr
oughconf
inementori
ncar
cer
ati
onist
hemost
di
rectmet
hodofcri
meprevent
ion.Cont
aini
ngoff
endersinpri
sonandjai
l
spr ev
ent
s
them from har
mingother
sordamagi
ngpr
oper
ty.I
tisbel
i
evedt
hati
ncar
cer
ati
onof
offender,
giv
espsychol
ogi
cal
pai
ntohi
m.

Pr event
ivetheoryofpunishmenti salsocalledbehaviour
alpr
eventi
vetheoryor
rest
rai
ntt heor
y.Thistheorypunishest heoffenders,t
opreventthef
utur
ecr i
mei nthe
soci
ety,byisol
atingthecri
minal
sf rom soci
ety.Thistheor
yisdivi
dedi
ntotwoparts:

a)I
ncapaci
tat
ion

b)I
ncar
cer
ati
on

a)I
ncapaci
tat
ion

I
ncapaci
tat
ionmeanst odepri
vesomebodyorsomethingofpower,f or
ce,or
eff
ectiv
enessandt odisqual
if
ysomebodyormakesomebodylegal
lyi
nel
igi
ble.Modern
punishmentsseektoincapaci
tat
ioncer
tai
nof
fender
swhoarebeli
evedtoposeat hr
eat
tothecommuni t
y.

Thepretr
ialj
ail
i
ngwithoutbailofsomebodyaccusedofacrimewhoisthought
l
ikelyto attemptt of l
ee,commi taddi t
ionalcr i
mes,orint
imi
dat
e wi
tnesses or
prosecutor
s,oraninst
anceofsuchjail
ing.Prevent
ionmeans:

i
) Anact
iont
hatst
opssomet
hingf
rom happeni
ng;
or

i
i
) Anact
ionoract
ionstakentostopsomebodyf
rom doi
ngsomet
hingort
opr
event
somet
hingf
rom taki
ngplace;

i
i
i) Anact
iont
akenespeci
all
ytopr
eventt
hecr
ime;

i
v) Somet
hingt
hatact
stopr
eventsomet
hing;
or

v
) Anact
ionormeasurethatmakesiti
mpossibl
eorv
erydi
ff
icul
tforsomebodyt
o
doacert
aint
hing,
orforsomet
hingtohappen.

b)I
ncar
cer
ati
on

I
ncarcerati
onmeanst oputsomebodyinprison(i
mpri
son)ort oplace
somebodyinapl aceorsi t
uat
ionofconf
inement
.Themostseriousorrepeatoff
enders
arei
ncarcer
ated.IntheUnitedStat
esaboutone-
four
thofal
lpersonswhoar econvi
cted
ofacri
mear eincarcerat
ed.

Rest
ri
ctionsonincarcer
atedoff
endersvar
y.Someof fendersarekeptinsoli
tar
y
confi
nementormaxi mum securitywi
thnoopport
uni t
ytointeractwithotheri
nmates.I
n
mini
mum secur i
tyfaci
li
ti
es,themostcommon f orm ofi ncarcer
ati
on,inmat
esar e
housedtogetherinl
argecell
sorindormit
oryli
kefacil
it
ies.

Pr
isonsdepri
veinmat esofvir
tual
lyallli
ber
tyandcontr
olovertheirli
ves.Each
aspectofani nmate’sdail
yl i
feisregulat
edbyot her
sandhighl
yst ructur
ed.Many
pri
sons offersel
f-
help educati
onaland counseli
ng progr
ammes.In some pr isons,
i
nmat esmaybeabl et owor katdiffer
enttradestoacquir
evocat
ionalandt echnical
ski
l
ls.

I
nI ndia,prisoner
sar enotdepr i
vedofal ltherights,butt heyarest
il
lhuman
beingsandent i
tledt o al
lt hehumanr ight
sandal lfundament alright
swithsome
restr
ict
ionsont hem.I nIndiaaround67%pr i
sonersareunder tr
ialandonlyar
ound32%
areconv i
cted.Besides1%i nmatesarehousedforincapacit
ation.

4)Ref
ormat
iveTheor
yofPuni
shment

Anot
herpossibl
egoalofpunishmentisr
ef or
mat i
onoftheoff
ender.Suppor
ter
s
ofreformat
ionseekt opreventcr
imebypr ovi
dingof f
ender
swi t
htheeducat i
onand
tr
eatmentnecessarytoel
iminatecri
minalt
endencies,aswellastheski
ll
st obecome
producti
vemembersofsociety.

Ref
ormati
on i s synonymous t o t he word ‘
impr ovement ’
,‘ modi
fi
cati
on’
,
‘
transf
ormati
on’
,‘alt
erat
ion’
,‘change’,‘
development
’.Reform means change and i t
i
mpr ovessomebodybycor r
ecti
ngf aul
ts,removi
nginconsistenci
esandabuses,and
i
mposi ngmodernmet hodsorv aluesort oadoptamor eaccept ablewayofl if
eand
modeofbehav i
ourorpersuadeorf or
cesomebodyelsetodoso.Ref ormationi
stheact
orprocessofr
eformingsomebodyespeci al
lyagener
ali
mpr ovementi nhisbehavi
our
.

Thistheor
yclaimsthatacr i
minalcanberefor
medi nt
oagoodci ti
zenaslaw
abi
derbygivi
nghim competenttr
eatmentduringhi
simpri
sonmentper
iod.Heisi
nneed
ofadoctor
-cum-gui
deandnott hejai
ler
.

Thi
stheor
yisnotgi
vi
ngpuni
shmentont
heseei
ngoft
hepastbutoft
hef
utur
e.

Twot
hingsar
ecombi
nei
nthi
stheor
y:

i
) Theof
fendershoul
dbet reat
edi
naf
orm bywhi
chhecanbeconv
ert
edhi
msel
f
i
ntoal
awabi di
ngci
tizen;

i
i
) Heshouldbetr
ainedforsomeworkdur i
ngtheper
iodofi
mpri
sonment,soaf
ter
complet
ionofsentencehecanr e-est
abli
shhimsel
fint
othesociet
yandhe
shoul
dnotcommi tt
hecri
meinf
uture.

Theaim ofr
efor
mat
ivet
heor
yisf
oundi
nthepoem ofGeor
geBer
nar
dShah,
whi
chr
eadsas:

“i
fyouar
egoi
ngtopunishamanr
etr
ibut
ivel
y–Youmustinjurehim,ify
ouar
eto
pr
ovehi
m –Youmusti
mprovehim,
Andmenarenotimpr
ovedbyinjuri
es”.
“Puni
shmentshoul
dnotber
egar
dedasset
tl
inganol
daccountbutr
atheras
openi
nganewone”.

Ev
aluat
ionoft
heTheor
y
 Themajoremphasi
softheref
ormi
stmovementi
sonrehabi
l
itat
ionofinmat
esi
n
peno-
corr
ect
ional
inst
it
uti
ons,
sothatt
heyar
etr
ansf
ormedi
ntogoodcitizens.

The ref
ormi
sts adv
ocat e humane tr
eatmentofi nmates i
nside the pr
ison
i
nst
it
ution.I
talsosuggest
st hatt hepri
sonersshoul
dbepr operl
ytrainedtoadjust
t
hemselvest
of r
eel
if
einsocietyaftert
hei
rrel
easefr
om thei
nst
it
uti
on.

Undoubt
edly
,moder npenologi
streaff
irmthei
rfait
hinr eformati
vejusti
cebut
theystrongl
yfeelt
hatitshouldnotbestret
chedtoofar.Thereformati
vemet hodhas
provedusefuli
ncasesofthejuveni
l
esinconfl
ictwi
thl
awandt hefirstof
fender
s.

Accept
ancebyI
ndi
anJudi
ciar
y

Str
essinguponther ehabil
itat
oryaspectofpenol ogy ,theHon’ bl
eSupremeCourt
hel
dthatcri
mei sapathol
ogi calaberr
ation,
thecriminalcanor dinari
lyber
edeemedand
theStat
ehast orehabi
li
tater atherthanav enge.Ther efore,t hefocusofi nt
eresti
n
penol
ogyistheindi
vi
dual,
andt hegoal i
ssalvagi
nghimf orsoci ety.

Todayhumani tari
anv i
ewi sthatsentencingisaprocessofre-shapingaper son
whohasdet eri
orat
edintocriminali
tyandthemoder ncommuni tyhasapr imarystakein
therehabi l
it
ationoftheoffenderast hemeansofaspeci aldef
ence,henceat her
apeut i
c,
rathert hanan“ interr
orem”out l
ook,shouldpr evai
linourcri
minalcourts,si
ncebr utal
i
ncar cerati
onoft hepersonmer elyproduceslacerat
ionofhismind.(Mohd.Giasuddinv .
StateofA. P.,AIR1977SC1926) .

Themoder nt r
endplacesemphasisont
heref
ormati
onofanof f
enderandhi s
rehabi
l
itat
ion.Ref
ormationandnotret
ri
buti
oni
sthesent
enci
nglodest
er Sar
.( adhakar
Sahuv.StateofOri
ssa,1985CrLJ1591).

Itisasoci alpersuasiondefencet oextendwhenev erpossibl

ethekeynot eon
moder npenol ogy,vi
z.,
reformati
onoft hedeli
nquent.Byext endi
ngbenefit
sofpr obati
on
asperSect i
on360oft heCode,courtsencouragedt heirownsenseofr esponsibil
i
tyof
fut
ureoft heaccusedandsav edhimf rom thest i
gmaandpossi bl
edev el
opmentof
cri
mi nalpropensit
ies.Itisthusintunewi thther ef
ormat i
v etr
endofmoder ncriminal
j
usticetor ehabil
i
tatethey oungoff
endersasusef ulcit
izens.(Punchuv.StateofOrissa,
1993CrLJ953)

5.Expi
ati
onTheor
yofPuni
shment(
Theor
yofRest
orat
ion)

Thetheoryofexpiat
ionisalsoknownast heor
yofrest orat
ion.Expiat
ionmeans
“t
heactofexpiat
ing,r
eparati
on,amends,compensati
on”
.Itmeansat oningorsuffer
ing
puni
shmentf orwrong-doi
ng ormaki ng amends,orshowi ng remor se,orsuffer
ing
puni
shmentforawr ongdoing.Thi
sisnotthenewconcept,Ifwel ookt owardstheepic
perod.Val
i i
a,af amousdacoi t
,tur
nedintoasage( Maharshi )Balmiki(Valmi
ka)and
wrotet
heRamay ana.

The t
heoryofr est
orati
on takes a vi
cti
m- or
iented appr
oach t
o cri
me t hat
emphasi
zes rest
it
uti
on.( compensation) f
or victi
ms,r ather t
han focus on the
puni
shmentofcri
minalsandadv ocatesrest
ori
ngt hev i
cti
m andcreat
ingconstr
uct
ive
r
olef
orv
ict
imi
nthecr
imi
nal
judi
cial
process.

Accor
ding t
ot histheory
,compensation is awarded t
ot he vi
cti
m from t
he
wrongdoer.Byawar ding compensati
on fr
om t he pocketoft he wrongdoerhe i
s
punishedandi sprev
entedf r
om doingsuchoffencesinhi sremaini
nglif
e.Thisal
so
becomesal essontotheremaini
ngpeople.

SirLeo Page st
ates t
hathe bel
iev
es i
tto be notonlywr
ong butacti
vel
y
mischi
evous.Todothi
swouldimposeoncourtt
hedut
ytodeter
minet
hedegreeofpai
n
pr
eciousl
yadequat
etoexpiat
emoralgui
lt
.

TheIt
ali
anCriminol
ogistEnr
icoFerr
iputthematt
ersucci
nctl
yandsaidt
hat“
The
quest
ionofmoralgui
ltofcri
minalorofanyotherhumanbei
nglieswit
hint
hedomain&
moralphi
l
osophy.

Fer
risummari
zedthi
st heorybydefi
ningcri
minalpsy
chol
ogyasa“ def
ecti
ve
r
esi
stance to cr
imi
nal t
endencies and t
emptati
ons,due to that i
l
l bal
anced
i
mpulsi
venesswhi
chchar
acter
izeschi
ldr
enandsavage.

The theor
y ofexpiat
ion t
hus pr
esents pr
acti
caldif
fi
cult
yint he matterof
assessmentofquant um ofpunishmentwhichmaybeequalt oandwhi chmaybe
capable ofwashing of
ft he moralgui
l
t.Itputst he j
udge t
he wor
ki ncapable of
accomplishmentbyhumanagency .

Adopt
ionbyI
ndi
anJudi
ciar
y

InPal
ani
appaGonderv.Stat
eofTamilNadu(AIR1977SC1323),i
nthiscaset
he
convi
cti
onwasunderSections302and149ofI PC.TheHon’ bl
eGujaratHighCourt
di
rect
edtheaccused,
topayRs.20,
000tot
hef ami
lyofdeceasedi
nst
eadoffi
ne.

TheHon’bleSupr
emeCour twhil
eupholdi
ngthepri
ncipl
eheldthat
,itisopento
t
hecourtunderSecti
on357(3)oftheCode,toawardcompensati
ontothevict
im orhi
s
f
amil
y.{RachhapalSi
nghv.Stat
eofPunjab,
(AIR2002SC2710)}

TheAndhraPradeshHighCour tgav
easensat i
onaljudgmentont hisexpi
ation
theory
,inthecaseofSayyaduddinandhisbrotherr
aidedMasel huddinduet opersonal
grudgesandasar esultMaslehuddi
nwaski l
led.TheHi ghCour ti
mposedt hreeyears
i
mpr i
sonmentandawar dedRs.60,000ascompensat i
onpay ablebyt heaccusedtot he
famil
ymember sofMasl ehuddin.{
Stat
eofAndhr aPr adeshv .Sayyaduddin,AIR1996
AP)}.

Ev
aluat
ionofTheor
y

Thistheoryi
ssuf fi
cienttomeett helessserioustypeofof
fences,
suchasabuse,
assaul
t,def
amat i
on,trespass,tor
tsetc.Howev er,thistheor
ycoul
dnotbeasoluti
onin
casesofmur der
,plunders,rapes,
kidnapping,t
hefts,etc.

Evenifsomeamountofpuni
shmentorcompensat
ionwer
eproper
,itwoul
dbe
wr
ongtoinf
li
ctmor
ethant
heproperamount
.Becauset
her
eisnowaytodeter
minethe
pr
operamountofpuni
shmentorcompensat
ionf
oranyof
fence.

Concl
usi
on

Uni
t-I
I
FORMSOFPUNI
SHMENT
I
NTRODUCTI
ON

“
Alt
houghsomesoci eti
esstil
luseanci
entformsofhar shphysi
calpuni
shment
,
puni
shments have al
so evolv
ed along wit
h civi
l
izat
ion and become less cr
uel
.
Puni
shmentsrangeinseveri
tydependingont hecri
me,witht hemostsev er
eforms
appl
i
edtoindi
vidual
swhocommi tt
hemostseri
ouscrimes”
.
Ther
earedi
ff
erentfor
msofpuni
shment
sandittr
ansformswi
ththechangi
ngof
ti
mesi never
ysoci
ety.Themethodsofexecut
ingsentenceareal
sochangedand
suppor
ti
nghumanri
ghts.

1.PUNI
SHMENTI
NTHEPASTVAGUE

Thehist
oryofthepuni
shmentst
atest
hatduri
ngthepast
,mostofthecountri
es
wer
et r
eati
ngpunishmentasabar
bari
candcruelf
orm,wit
htheobj
ectofdeter
rentand
r
etr
ibut
ive.

Thehi
stor
yofear l
ypenalsyst
em ofmostcount r
iesrev
eal
sthatpunishment
s,
whi
chwer
etor
tuous,
cruelandbar
bari
cinthenat
ure.Theycanbedescr
ibedasfol
lows:

a)Capi
talPuni
shment
s

Itwasr ecognizedbyancientlegalsy
stemsal so.AncientHebrewlawpr
escr
ibed
deathf orhomi ci
deandf orsomereli
giousandsexualof f
encesi ncl
udi
ngbear
ingfal
se
witness,kidnapping,sexualimmor al
it
y,witchcraf
t,i
dolat
ry,blasphemyandsacri
l
ege.
Underdomi nateandt heempi r
e,deathpenaltybecomesmor ecommonast hepenalt
y
forawi derrangeofof fences.

Themostextr
emef orm ofpunishmentwasand i sdeath.Executi
on ofan
of
fenderi
sknownascapit
alpuni
shment.Methodsofexecut
ionhavev ar
iedovert
ime.
Anci
entRomanwasgi
vingalotofpai
nbefor
egivinghi
m deat
hsentences.

TheJewsandUnani eswereexecuti
ngdeat hsentencebytaki
ngouttheski
nsof
theoff
ender.TheAncientPhi
li
sti
ne,execut
ingdeathbyeitherput
ti
ngtheoff
enderatthe
pinpointofaninstr
umentl i
keBhalaandt hrownintotheai r
,sothati
nstr
umentgoes
i
nsidethebodyoftheof f
enderorbythrowi
ngt hestonesontheheadoftheoff
ender.

nGer
I many&Austral
i
atheoff
enderwasputi nt
oaditchandwascov
eredupto
neckwithmud,hi
sheadwaskeptout
sidetheearthandwashint
edbyt
hewheelsoft
he
vehi
cle&hisey
esweretonedbyt
hehotrodofiron.
 InEngland,thenameofHenr yVII
I&hi erEl
sdaught i
zabet
hwasf amousfor
gi
vingthehar
dpunishment .Dur
ingt
heperiodofHenr
yVII
I,72,
000cr
imi
nal
sweregiv
en
deathsent
enceforsmallandbigoff
ences.

Capit
alpuni
shmenthasbeenusedsi
nceanci
entt
imes.TheOl
dTreat
mentoft
he
Bibl
eprescr
ibesdeat
hast hepuni
shmentforov
er30crimes.Somepopul
arf
ormsof
execut
ionofpuni
shmentmaybeasf ol
l
ows.

i
)St
oni
ng:

St oningthecrimi
naltodeat hisalsoknownt ohavebeeni npract
iceduri
nghe
medievalper i
od.Thisf orm ofpunishmenti sstil
linvoguei nsomeoft heIslamic
countr
iesl i
ke,Afghani
stan,Saudi
-Arabi
a,etc.Theguilt
ypersonismadet ostandina
smalltrenchdugi nthegroundandpeopl esurroundhi
mf rom al
lsi
desandpeltstones
onhim untilhedies.

i
i)Pi
ll
ory:

I
twasy etanot
herform ofcruelandbar
bari
cpunishmentwhi chwasi npr
acti
ce
t
h
ti
l
l19 centur
y .Thecr
iminalwasmadet ost
andinpubl
icplacewit
hhi sheadandhands
l
ockedinanironf r
amesot hathecouldnotmov ehi
sbody .Theoffendercoul
dalsobe
whippedorbrandedwhil
ei npil
lor
y,hecouldbestonedifhisoff
encewasofaser i
ous
natur
e.

i
ii
)Const
ructi
ntoWal
l:

Insomekingdoms,t heexecutionofcapi
talpuni
shmentwasv er
ycr uel
,they
const
ruct
edtheoffenderint
othewal l.I
twasthemostcr uel
,br
utal
,tot
all
yinhuman
bei
ngandmostpainfulfor
m ofexecut
ingdeat
hsentence.

i
v)Thr
owundert
heLegofEl
ephant:

Duri
ngancienthi
stor
y,wef i
ndt heperi
odi nwhicht hedeathsentencewas
executedbythr
owingtheoff
enderunderthel
egsofelephant
.Suchelephantwasmade
i
ntoxicat
edbefor
eputti
ngtheoff
enderunderhi
slegs.

b)Cor
por
ealPuni
shment:

Throughouthistor
y,soci
eti
eshav eusedcorporealpuni
shment
stoi nfl
i
ctphysi
cal
painonwr ongdoers.Tr i
balsoci
eti
esf indthesepuni shment
sparti
cul
ar l
yappeali
ng,
sincetheyar eimmedi ateanddir
ect,andoftendebil
i
tati
ng.Suchsoci
eti
esof t
enlackthe
facil
i
tiestoconf i
neof fender
s,&corporealpunishmentof f
ersamoredirectappl
icat
ion
ofpenal ti
esforviol
atingcommuni t
yrules.

Gover
nment
al& r el
i
gious author
it
ies also use many f
orms of cor
poreal
puni
shment,
oft
entot
ort
urepersonint
oconf essi
ngtoacri
meorheresy
.Dur
ingthe13th
centurytheRomanCat hol
icChurchest abl
i
shedt heInqui
sit
ion,aj udici
ali
nsti
tut
ion
chargedwithfi
ndi
ng,tr
ying,andpunishi
ngheret
ics.For
msoft ortureusedbyinqui
sit
ors
i
ncludedfloggi
ng,boi
l
ing,andstret
chingonadev i
ceknownast herack.Themainkinds
ofpunishmentgiv
enintheancientti
mesmaybedescr i
bedasf oll
ows:

i
)Fl
oggi
ng:

Thef l
oggi
ngwasthemostcommonmet hodofpunishi
ngt hecr i
minalasa
corpor
ealpuni
shment
.Thi
smodeofpunishmentwasrecogni
zedunderWhi ppi
ngAct,
1864,whi
chwasrepeal
ed&repl
acedbysi
mil
arActi
n1909&f i
nal
lyabol
ishedin1955.

The inst
rumentand method offl
ogging howeverdiff
erentfr
om count
ryto
count
ry.Someofthem usedst
rapsandwhipswit
hasi ngl
eleshwhileot
her
susedshor
t
pi
ecesofrubber-
hoseastheyl
eftbehi
ndt
racesoffloggi
ng.

i
i)Mut
il
ati
on

Themodeofpuni shmentcommonlyusedtopr act

icei
nanci
entIndiadur
ing
Hinduperi
od.Oneorbot hofthehandsoft hepersonwhocommi t
tedtheftwere
choppedoff,i
fhecri
ti
cizedtheGodortel
l
slie–histonguewascutof
f,andifcr
imi
nal
i
sdeceit
fulorunt
rust
wor thy–hisear
swerecutof
f.

i
ii
)Br
andi
ng

Thi
s word means the “
sear
ing offl
esh wit
h a hotiron”
.Inthi
s mode of
puni
shmentthepr
isonerwasbrandedbyhotironrodonforeheadoft
heoff
ender
,the
wordswer
eusedaccordingtot
heoffencecommitt
ed.

i
v)Ducki
ngSt
ool

Thi
sisonekindofcorpor
ealpunishmentusedinEngl
andandNorthAmer
ican
col
onies.Int
hispuni
shment,anoffenderwasti
edtoachairattheendofal
ongpole
andlowered,
timeandagai
nintoalakeorri
verandnear
lydr
owned.

v
)Bi
lboes

I
tisthemodeofpunishmenti
nwhich,l
egsoft
heoffenderwer
eti
edatbot
hthe
endsofi
ronrodsandwashangedonther
oof,duet
owhichhecannotmove.

v
i)Rack(
Pul
li
ngaf
tert
idi
ngt
hehandsandl
egs)

I
nt hi
sform ofpuni
shmentthehandsandlegsoft
heof
fenderwereti
edandwere
ful
l
,somet i
mesinoppositedirect
ionsandsometi
mesbytheelephantorhor
seinthe
samedirecti
on,i
nt hi
sprocesshesuf f
ersmor
epainandsometimeshisport
ionsal
so
ser
ves.

v
ii
)Ti
edt
heof
fenderonRoami
ngWheel
 Int
hismodetheoff
enderti
edwithawheelandthatwheelmovedi
nthespeed
f
orsomet
imes.I
nthi
spr
ocesstheoff
enderwassuf
fer
ingalotofpai
n.

v
ii
i)Pr
essur
edbyI
ronRods

Inthi
smodet hebodyoftheoffenderwaspr essur
edbyt
het
woi
ronr
odsi
n
i
nhumanmanner
,bywhicht
heof
fendersuff
ersalotofpain.

i
x)I
mpr
isonment

Theimpri
sonmentofnowdaysdiff
ersf
rom t
hatki
ndofimpri
sonment.I
fwesaw
theper
iodofRamayana,wher
etheRav anahadconfi
nedSi
ta,anddur
ingtheperi
odof
Mahabharat
a,t
heKansahadi mpri
sonedVasudeva,Dev
kiandhisownf at
herint
othe
pri
son.

c)Soci
alBani
shment

i
)Bani
shment

The ter
m t ranspor
tat
ion,banishment ,exi
le & out
law though si
mil
ar,hav
e
di
ff
erentconnotat
ions.Thepr act
iceoftranspor
ti
ngundesirabl
ecriminal
stofaroff
pl
aceswithav i
ewt oelimi
natingthem fr
om societ
yhasbeencommonl yusedi
nmost
oft
heworldforcenturi
e.

Inancienttimesbani shmentwasacommonf or
m ofpunishment,& i
toften
amountedt o capi
talpunishmentbecauseauthori
ti
eswoulddenyf oodandshel t
er
wit
hinacertai
ndistancetothosebani
shed.TheOldTest
amentoft
heBi bl
econt
ainsthe
st
ory ofAdam & Ev e,who wer e bani
shed f
rom the Gar
den ofEden fort hei
r
di
sobediencetoGod.

InI
ndi
a,thepracti
ceoftr
anspor
tat
ioni
sknownt ohaveexist
edi
npenalsyst
em
ofBr
it
ishI
ndi
aaswel l.I
twaspopul
arl
yknownas“Kal
a-Pani
”.Danger
ouscr
imi
nalswere
di
spat
chedtoremoteIsl
andofAndamanandNikobar
.

i
i)Soci
alBoy
cot
t

Inanci
entper
iodbutbefor
etheBrit
ishRul
er,
theNy ayaPanchayati
nIndiawasi n
ful
lform.Thesepanchayatswer egiv
ing thepunishmentofsoci alboycotttothe
off
ender.I
nthi
sform ofpuni
shment,nopersonofthev i
l
lagewil
lsharehimf orhukka-
pani
.

d)Fi
nanci
alPuni
shment(
Fine)

Theimposi
ti
onoffi
newascommonmodeofpuni shmentforof
fender
swhich
wer enotofaser i
ousnat
ure& speci
all
ythoseinv
olvingbranchoftraf
ficrul
esor
revenuelaws.Thi
smodeofpunishmentisbeingextensi
vel
yusedi nalmostallt
he
sentenci
ngsyst
emsofworl
deventoday
.
2.Pr
inci
palf
ormsPuni
shment
sint
heI
PC

Alt
houghsomesoci et
iessti
lluseanci
entfor
msofhar shphysi
calpuni
shment
.
Punishment s have al
so evol
ved along wit
h civi
li
zati
on & become less cr
uel
.
Punishment srangeinsever
it
ydependingont hecri
me,wi t
hthemostsev er
eforms
appl
iedt oindi
vidual
swhocommi tt
hemostseriouscri
me.Accor
dingSect
ion53ofI
PC,
thepunishment stowhi
choff
endersareli
abl
eareasfoll
ows.

a)Deat
hSent
ence,

b)I
mpr
isonmentf
orl
if
e,

c)I
mpr
isonment–

i
)Ri
gor
ousI
mpr
isonment(
wit
hhar
dlabour
),

i
i)Si
mpl
eImpr
isonment

d)For
fei
tur
eofpr
oper
ty,
and

e)Fi
ne

3)Sent
encesunderSpeci
alLawsi
nIndi
a

Modernformsofcr iminalpuni
shmentincl udealt
ernati
vest hatcont
rast
vivi
dlywit
hcor por
ealpuni
shment sandlargescalewarehousingofoffendersinpri
sons.
Moder n programmes incr
easingly emphasizes on indivi
dual
ized approach tot he
rehabil
i
tati
on&t r
eatmentofoffenders.Butthereaermanypuni shmentscommont o
IPC.Thef ol
l
owingsentencesmaybeconcl udedbutnotexhaust i
vel
yunderSpeci al
Lawsbesi destheIndi
anPenalCode.

a)Deat
hSent
ence

b)I
mpr
isonmentf
orl
i
fe

c)I
mpr
isonment

d)For
fei
tur
eofPr
oper
ty

e)Monet
arypuni
shment(
FineorPenal
ty)

f
) Per
for
m Communi
tyser
vice

g)Sendj
uveni
l
etoaspeci
alhome.

a)Deat
hSent
ence

Deat
hsent
encebesi
desI
PC,
areav
ail
abl
efort
hef
oll
owi
ngof
fencesunder
SpecialLawsinIndia.Wetr
iedtomaket heent
ir
eli
stoft
heof
fencespuni
shabl
ewi
th
deathunderSpecial
Laws,buti
tisnotexcl
usi
ve.

i
)Of
fencesunderAr
medFor
cesAct
s:
TheArmyAct ,AirFor
ceandNav yActempower st
hecourtsMart
ialtoaward
maxi
mum punishmentt hati
sdeat
hsentencewhichfal
lsundert
heli
stprescr
ibedby
t
heseActsunderSecti
on34&Mut i
nyunderSect
ion37.

i
i)Cer
tai
nof
fencesaf
terpr
evi
ousconvi
cti
onunderNDPSAct
,1985ar
epuni
shabl
e
wit
hdeat
h:
Sect
ion31A ofNDPSActpr
escr
ibesdeat
hpenal
tyf
orcer
tai
nof
fencesaf
ter
pr
evi
ousconvict
ion.

i
ii
)Puni
shmentf
orusi
ngunaut
hor
izedar
msorammuni
ti
on,r
esul
tsi
ndeat
hofot
her
per
son:
Accor
dingtoSecti
on27(3)oftheArmsAct,1959whoev
erusesanyprohi
bit
ed
ar
msorammuni ti
onunlesshehasbeenspeci
all
yaut
hori
zedbyt
heCentr
alGov
ernment
i
nthi
sbehalf
.Shal
lbepunishabl
ewit
hdeath.

i
v)Puni
shmentf
orabat
ementofSat
i:
According t
o Sect
ion 4(1)ofCommissi
on ofSat
iAct,1987,i
fanyperson
commitsSati,shal
lbepunishablewi
thdeat
horimpri
sonmentf
orli
fe&shal
lal
sobe
l
iabl
eforfi
ne.

v)Of
fencesunderSC/
ST(
Prevent
ionofAt
roci
ti
es)Act:
Accor
dingtoSect i
on3(2)
(i
)oftheSchedulesCastesandtheScheduledTr i
bes
(
Prevent
ionofAtr
oci
ties)Act,
1989whoever,
notbeingamemberofSchedul edCasteor
aTri
begivesorfabr
icatesfal
seevi
denceint
endi
ngt her
ebytocause,shal
lbepunished
wi
thdeath.

vi
)Of
fencesunderTer
ror
istAct:
Thereisdeat
hpenalt
yfortheoff
enceofTerr
ori
stActenfor
ceabl
ebylawint
he
count
ry.TheTer
rori
standDi
srupt
iveAct
ivi
ti
es(
Prev
enti
on)Act,
1987,POTA,
etc.

b)I
mpr
isonmentf
orLi
fe:

Thefoll
owi
ngaret
heof
fencesunderSpeci
alLawswhi
char
epr
ovi
dedwi
th
i
mpr
isonmentf
orl
if
e.

i
)Of
fencesofAnt
i-
Hij
acki
ng:
Accordi
ngtoSect
ion4oftheAnti
-Hij
acki
ngAct
.1982,shal
lbepuni
shedwi
th
i
mpr
isonmentforl
i
fe&shal
lal
sol
i
ablet
ofine.
i
i)Of
fencesUnderAr
msAct:
TheArmsAct ,1959descri
bestheoffencesar
epunishabl
ewi t
hthemaximum
puni
shmentofli
feimprisonmentwit
hfine.Secti
on27(
2).Foroff
encesundert
hisAct
puni
shmentshal
lnotbelessthan7year
s.

i
ii
)Of
fencesunderExpl
osi
veSubst
anceAct:
Thi
sActal
sopr
ovi
dest
hel
i
fei
mpr
isonment

i
v)Puni
shmentf
orabet
mentorat
temptt
oabet
mentofSat
i:
Sect
ion4ofCommissi
onofSatiAct,1987,Sec–4–shal
lbepuni
shabl
ewi
th
i
mpr
isonmentf
orl
i
fe&shal
lal
sobeli
abletofine.

v)Of
fencesunderSC/
ST(
Prevent
ionofAt
roci
ti
es)Act:
Sect
ion3(
2)(
i)–Fabr
icat
ingf
alseev
idence.

Secti
on 3(
2)(
iv)– Commit
s mischi
efbyf
ir
e oranyexpl
osi
ve subst
ance &
dest
ruct
ionoft
emple,humandwel
l
inghouse.

Sect
ion3(
2)(
v)– Commi
tsanyof
fencesunderI
PC – mor
ethan10y
ear
sof
I
mpr
isonment
.

c)I
mpr
isonment

TheCourtMart
iali
sempower edtoawar
danyi
mpr
isonment
,ei
therr
igor
ousor
si
mpl
e,f
oranyper
iodnotexceedi
ng14year
s.

i
)Ri
gor
ousI
mpr
isonmentmayext
endt
o30y
ear
s&f
ineupt
oto3l
akhs
NDPSAct,1985–Ext endedt
o20y ear
s.Forrepet
it
ionofOff
ences–30y
ear
s
andf
inenotl
essthan1.
5lakhsbutwhichmaybeext
endedto3lakhs.

UnderI
ndi
anCr
imi
nal
Judi
cial
Syst
em –Maxi
mum Sent
enceandMaxi
mum f
ine.

i
i)Ri
gor
ousi
mpr
isonmentmayext
endt
otwent
yyear
s:
Wehavet woenact mentswhi chexpressl
yprovi
dethatimprisonmentmaybe
ext
endt o20years.Suchpunishmenti spr
ov i
debySec–4oft heExplosiv
eSubstance
Act,1908&ont heot herhandv ari
ousoffencesunderNDPSAct ,shallbepuni
shable
wit
hr i
gorousi
mpr i
sonmentforat er
m whichshallnotbel
essthan10y earsbutmaybe
ext
endedt o20years.

i
ii
)Impr
isonmentwhi
chmaybeext
endedt
ofour
teeny
ear
s:
 InIndi
atherear
emanyenactmentsbesi
desI PC,whichprovi
det
hesent
enceof
i
mpr
isonmentforanyt
erm &det
ent
iononthevi
olat
ionofthatenact
ment
.

TheAr
myAct
,1950,
AirFor
ceAct
,1950andNav
yAct
,1957.

d)For
fei
tur
eofPr
oper
ty

Forf
eit
ureofPropertyofcertai
npersonsoffencesofAt rocit
ies:Accor dingt o
Section–7oft heScheduledCastes&t heScheduledTribes(Pr
ev enti
onofAt rocit
ies)
Act,1989,wher eapersonhasbeenconv i
ctedofanyof f
enceofat r
ocit
iespunishabl e,
theSpeci alCourtmay ,i
naddi ti
ont oawardi
nganypuni shment,byor deri nwr i
ting
declaret hatanypropert
y,mov ableorimmov abl
e,orbot h,bel
ongi ngtot heper son,
whichhasbeenusedf ort hecommi ssi
onofof fence,shallstand forf
eitedtot he
Gover nment.

Forf
eit
ureofExplosi
ves :Sec– 10ofExpl
osi
vesAct
,1884– expl
osi
veor
i
ngr
edi
entoftheexpl
osi
veoranysubst
ance.

Forfei
tur
eofPr opert
yunderTADA:Sec–8ofTer ror
ist&Disr
upti
veAct
ivi
ti
es
(
Prev
ention)Act,1987prov
idest
hefor
fei
tur
eofpr
oper
tyofcertai
nper
sons.

For
fei
tur
eofPr opertyundert
hePr event
ionofFoodAdulter
ati
onAct,1954:
Secti
on18pr ov
idesforfor
fei
tur
eofproper
tyofpersonwhocont
rav
enethepr
ovisi
onof
thi
sActalongwithpunishment.

Forfei
tur
eofPr oper
tyincert
aincasesundert
heSmuggl
ers&ForeignExchange
Manipul
ators(Forf
eitur
eofPr opert
y)Act,1976:Sec– 7oft heActdescribesthe
of
fenceswhent heorderoffor
fei
tur
ecanbegivenaft
eri
ssui
ngofnot
iceunderSec–6.

Fi
nei nl ieu ofFor f
eit
ure :Sec– 9 oft heSmuggl ers& Forei
gn Exchange
Manipulator
s( Forf
eitureofPropert
y)Act,
1976,wherethecompetentaut
hori
tymakesa
decl
arationthatanypr oper
tystandsfor
fei
tedtotheCentr
alGovernmentunderSec–7.

e)Monet
aryPunsi
hment:

Therearemanyenact mentst hosepr ov

idethepenalt
yorf i
nesf oroff
ence
commi tt
ednotinthesevereoff
ences.Violat
ionofITAct(
upto5cror
e) ,v
iol
ati
onofof
copy
rights,tr
ademark,desi
gn.NDPSAct ,etc.andsomepr ovi
deactualdamages&
nominalfineonl
y.

f
)Per
for
m Communi
tySer
vice:

g)SendJuv
eni
let
oaSpeci
alHome:

SENTENCI
NGPROCESS
I
NTRODUCTI
ON

Theanal yt
icaltangl
er el
ati
ngtosent encingproceduredeser
vessomeat tent
ion
here.Sentencingpr oceduredeservesanar ti
culateandjudici
aladmini
str
ati
on.Inthis
regard,al
lcour t
sar eequallyresponsi
ble.Sentencingprocessshouldbesocompl ied
with,thatenoughi nformationisgener at
ed t o obj
ecti
vel
yi nf
orm theselect
ionof
penalty.Thesel ectionofpenal t
ymustnotr equir
eaj udget orefl
ectonhi s/her
personalperceptionofcrime.
-Hon’
bleSupr
emeCour
tinSai
bannav.St
ateofKar
nat
aka,
(
2005)4SCC165.

Meani
ngofSent
enci
ngPr
ocess

Sentenci
ngpr ocessist hecombi nat
ionoftwowor ds,sent
encingandpr ocess.
Thewor d‘ sent
ence’isderivedf rom theLatinwor
d‘sententi
a’and‘pr
ocess’isderi
ved
fr
om ‘
pr ocessus’.Sosentencingpr ocessmeans,aprocedureadoptedbyjudi
ciar
y,whil
e
deci
dingt hesentenceofconv ictedperson.

Accordi
ngt oEncart
aDicti
onar
y2005,“ sent
ence”means“ajudgmentbyacour t
specif
yingthepuni shmentofsomebodyconv ict
edofcrime”and“ sent
enci
ng”means
fi
nalphaseofat ri
al,i
nwhichasent enceisar r
ivedat&pronounced,ort heactof
makingsuchapr onouncement
.Thewor d“pr
ocess”means“aseriesofacti
onsdi r
ected
toward a part
icularaim”or“ t
o dealwi t
h somebodyaccording to an establ
ished
procedure”
.

Accor
dingtoCambri
dgeDi ct
ionar
y,“sent
ence”meansapunishmentgivenbya
j
udgeincourttoapersonaft
ertheyhavef oundguil
tyofdoi
ngsomethingwrongand
“
process”meansaser
iesofact
ionsthatyoutakeinordert
oachi
evearesul
t.

Afterst
udyofdict
ionar
ydef
ini
ti
ons,i
tmaybesai
dthat‘sentenci
ngprocess’i
s
thefi
nalphaseoftr
ial
,wherethej
udgehast opl
ayani
mport
antr oleinawardi
ngthe
sent
ences.

FACTORSTOBECONSI
DEREDI
NSENTENCI
NGPROCESS

Af
terhear ingargumentofbotht hesides,thecour tshast oconcludethewhol e
proceedingandhast otakethedecisionoft het r
ial
.I f
,courtconcludest hat,the
prosecutionhasf ai
ledtoprovetheaccusati
onordef enceisablet oprovethedefence,
thent hej udgehast omakedeci si
onofacqui t
tal
.Ont heotherhand,i fthecour t
satisfi
edt hatt heaccusedhascommi ttedtheof f
ences& cour thasconv i
ctedt he
offender,int hatcasecour thastousesent encingpr ocess,byusingt heser i
esof
actions,i
ndeci dingt hecorr
ectsent
ence.Insentencingpr ocessfoll
owingfact
orsar eto
beconsi dered:
a)Cour
tShal
lhavet
hepowert
oawar
dsent
ence:
Cour ti
shav ingi
tspower s&juri
sdicti
onunderstat
ute,sobef
oredeli
ver
ingt he
sent
ence,itisthedutyoft hecour
ttoawar dthesent
encewithi
nthepower,i
foffender
i
sdeservingmor esentencethenthepoweroft hatcourt
,insuchcir
cumstancest he
caseshal
l berefer
redtothecompetentcourt.

b)Hear
ingofaccusedont
hequest
ionofsent
ence
Iti
sthemandat
orydutyofthecour
ttoheart
heaccusedonthequesti
onoft
he
sent
ence.Thedut
yisimposedont heCourtofSessi
onbySecti
on235( 2)&onthe
Magist
rat
ebySect
ion248(2)oft
heCode.

c)Quest
ionofPr
evi
ousConvi
cti
on
I
nanycase,apr evi
ousconv ictionischar ged&theaccuseddoesnotadmi tthat
hehasbeenprevi
ouslyconvict
edasal legedinthechar
ge.TheMagi st
rat
emay, aft
erhe
hasconvict
ed t
hesai d accused,t akeev idencei nr
espectoft heall
eged previ
ous
conv
ict
ion&shallr
ecordaf i
ndingthereon.

d)Benef
itofdoubtgoesi
nfavourofconvi
ct
Asiti
sther
ulethatbenef
itofdoubtshal
lgoi
nfav
ourofconvi
ctpersononly.I
f
ther
ei sdoubtonthenatur
eofof f
encethatfal
l
sundert
wooffencesthenlesserone
shouldbeconsi
der
ed.

e)Pur
poseofPuni
shmentt
obeconsi
der
edaccor
dingt
onat
ureofof
fence
Whil
eaj udgesent
encing,
hemustconsiderthepurposeofsent
encing,i
tmaybe
speci
fi
c,deterr
ence,generaldeter
rence orrehabil
i
tat
ion ofthe offender
,& the
prot
ecti
onofthepubl
icarei
mpor t
antconsi
der
ati
on.

f
)Cour
tshal
lnotconsi
dermor
ethanpr
escr
ibedpuni
shment
The cour
tisbound bythe r
uleofl aw thatno onecan beawarded more
puni
shmentthanpr
ovi
dedbytheenf
orceabl
elaw,onthedateofof
fencecommit
ted.

g)Lowerdegr
eeofPuni
shmenti
sther
uleandhi
gheri
sexcept
ional
Thecourthast oaskit
selfthat,whylowerdegreeofpunishmentpr ov
idedby
stat
uteoft
heall
egedof f
encecannotbeawardedtotheoffender
.Ifthecourtarr
ivedat
theconcl
usi
ont hatal
legedoff
encei sprovi
dedpunishmentforimprisonmentint he
opti
onoffi
ne,t
henfir
stithast
oconsiderthefi
neonl
y.

h)Al
ter
nat
iveSent
encet
oimpr
isonment
Theforemostdut
yofthecourti
stocheckt
henumberofoffencecommittedby
t
heof
fender,ifheisfi
rstoff
ender
,thansuchoffenderi
sli
abl
et ober el
easedon
admonit
ionunderSecti
on3orrel
easeonprobat
ionofgoodconductunderSect
ion4of
heProbati
onofOffender
sAct
,1958andSecti
on360oftheCode.

i
)Ot
herFact
or
Otherfactorstobeconsi der
edt oincludethepr esenceorabsenceofacriminal
record,t
helife-st
yleoftheoffender,att
it
udeandhi storyoft heof
fender,t
hei
mpacton
thev i
cti
m, t
hegr avit
yoftheoffence,andt hecir
cumst anceconcerni
ngthecommi ssion
oftheof f
ence.Thej udgecanal soli
stentot hevi
cti
m oft hecrimeandshouldconsider
pre-sent
encer eportwit
hvict
imi mpactassessment .

a)Pre–Sent enceReport:Apr e-
sentencereportstatestheage,educati
on,famil
y
support,employ
ment,healthprobl
ems,addi ct
ions,andprevi
ousconv ict
ionsof
theoffender
.Itmayincludeint
ervi
ewwi thpeoplecl oset
otheof f
endersuchas
famil
y,fri
ends,ateacher,oranempl oyer.Ther eporthel
psthej udgetol ear
n
moreaboutt heoff
ender.

b)Victi
mI mpactSt at
ement:Bef oredeci
dingthesentence,t
hejudgeshallconsider
thev i
cti
m’sst at
ement.Thest atementmustbei nwr i
tt
enform anditmustbe
madebyt hepersontowhom har m wasdoneorbemadebyaper sonwho
suffer
edphy si
caloremotionallossasar esul
tofthecommi ssionoft
heof fence.
Ifthevicti
mi sdead,i
l
l,orincapableofmaki ngthestatement,thenarelat
iveof
thatpersonmaymaket hestat
ement .

CAPI
TALPUNI
SHMENT
I
NTRODUCTI
ON

“Arealandabi
dingconcernforthedi
gnit
yofhumanl if
epostulatesresi
stance
t
ot aki
ngal i
fethr
oughlaw’sinst
rumental
it
y.Thatoughtnottobedonesavei nt he
r
arestofr
arecaseswhenthealter
nati
veopti
onisunquesti
onablyf
oreclosed.
”
-Hon’
bleSupr
emeCour
tinBachachanSi
nghv.St
ateofPunj
ab,AI
R1980SC
898.
Thepunishmentofdeat hsentenceisknownascapitalpuni
shment .Thei nfl
icti
on
ofdeathbyanaut hori
tyasapuni shmentiscall
edcapit
alpunishment.Itisthepr acti
ce
del
iber
atel
yputtingt othedeat hofanof f
enderasameasur eofsoci alpolicy.Itis
i
mposedbyt hegov erningaut hori
tyoft hecountry
.Itisgener al
l
yi mposedf ort he
for
emost,gri
evousdi sablecrimesagai nsthumansoci et
yorhumanbei ngs.Iti sthe
maximum quantum ofpuni shmentwhi chcanbegivenbylawtoacr i
mi nal
, i
.e.
,hislif
eis
puttoanendbyt hi
spuni shment.

Arti
cle21oft heConst
it
uti
onofIndi
a;Uni
versalDecl
arat
ionofHumanRights,
1948;andInter
nat
ionalCov
enantonCi
vi
landPoli
ti
calRight
s,1966pr
ovi
deimpor
tance
oftheli
fe.Accor
dingtothem,noonecanbedepr
ivedofl
i
feandper
sonall
i
ber
ty,
except
accordi
ngtotheprocedureest
abl
ishedbyl
aw.

I
thasbeenhel dbytheSupremeCour tthati
nthematterofdeathsentence,t
he
Cour
tsarerequir
edt oanswernew challengesandmouldthesent enci
ngsy st
em to
meetthesechal
lenges.Theobjectshouldbet oprot
ectt
hesocietyandt odet ert
he
cr
imi
nalinachi
evingtheavowedobjectt
ol awbyimposi
ngappropr
iat
esentence.

I
nfl
ict
ionorexecut
ionof“
deat
hsent
ence”i
snotanof
fence:
Aki
ll
ingofhumanbeingbyanotherhumanbeingiscal
ledhomicide,whi
chi
s
ext
endedt
omurder.Togi
vesomeonedeathsent
encei
sgener
aldefenceunderI
PC.

CAPI
TALPUNI
SHMENTI
NINDI
A

I
rr
espectiv
eofspeci allaws,theIPC has10of f
encesunderv ar
iousSect ions
empower ing t
hecompet entcour ttoimposedeat h sent
enceon conv ict
ion oft he
offence.I n1983,theSupremeCour thasdeclaredSect i
on303asunconst i
tut
ionalby
stating thatitgives mandatorydeath sentence and does notpr ovi
de alt
er nati
ve
puni shment.In1993Section364A i si
nsertedbyt heCr i
minalAmendmentAct ,1993,
whi chprov i
desdeathsent
encef ort
heoffenceof‘ki
dnappingforransom’.

Thefunct
ionofj
udici
aryi
sonlytointer
pretlaw,nottoaddorr
emitorsubsti
tut
e
anywor dfr
om thestat
ute.Theconstit
uti
onalvali
dit
yofitcanbechall
engedagainby
anothercase.There are many secti
ons oft he stat
utes,whi
ch were once hel
d
unconsti
tut
ional
andbyanotherchal
lenge,hel
dconstit
uti
onal.

TheHon’bleSupremeCourtcanov erruleit
sowndeci si
onandt hispowerhas
beenusedsev eralti
mesbytheApexCour t,oneoft heexamplesisSecti
on309ofI PC,
whichwasoncei n1994washeldunconsti
tuti
onalbythreeJudgesBench, (
P.Rathi
nam
v.UnionofIndia,(1994)3SCC394)andaf ter2y earsin1996,wasov err
uledbyf i
ve
j
udgesBenchunani mouslyandhel
dagainconst i
tut
ionalbystati
ngthatr
ighttodiedoes
notincl
udeinther i
ghttol
if
eunderArti
cle21oft heConst i
tut
ion.(
GianKaurv .St
ateof
Punjab,(
1996)2SCC648) .

Of
fencesPuni
shabl
ewi
th‘
Deat
hSent
ence’
inI
ndi
a

Deathsent
enceisawardedfor‘rar
estofr
arecase’onl
y.Accordi
ngtotheI
PC,
whereabout400offencesar
especif
ied,onl
ytenoff
encesarepunishabl
ewit
hdeath
sent
ence.

i
) Wagi
ngwaragai
nstt
heGov
ernmentofI
ndi
aunderSec–121

i
i) Abet
ti
ngmut
inyact
ual
l
ycommi
tt
edunderSec–132ofI
PC

i
ii
) Givi
ngorfabr
icat
ingfal
seev
idenceuponwhi
chani
nnocentper
sonsuf
fer
sdeat
h
underSec–194ofI PC
i
v) Puni
shmentf
ormur
derunderSec–302ofI
PC;

v
) Murderbythelif
econv
ictunderSec303ofI
PC; [
Unconst
it
uti
onalby
Mi
thu’sCase(1983)
]

v
i) Abet
mentofsui
cideofami
nororani
nsaneorani
ntoxi
cat
edper
sonunderSec–
305ofI
PC;

v
ii
) Att
empttomur derbyaper
sonundersent
enceofi
mpr
isonmentf
orl
i
fe,
ifhur
tis
causedunderSec–307ofIPC;

v
ii
i) Ki
dnappi
ngforr
ansom,et
c.underSec–364AofI
PC;[
inser
tedbyCr
imi
nalLaw
AmendmentAct
,1993]

i
x) Dacoi
tyaccompani
edwi
thmur
derunderSec–396ofI
PC;

x) Abet
tororconspi
rat
orofanyoft heof
fencespuni
shabl
ewi
thdeat
handact
ual
ly
committ
edinconsequenceofabett
edunderSec–109andSec–120B(
1)ofI
PC

Const
it
uti
onalVal
idi
tyofDeat
hSent
ence

Theconst
it
uti
onalv
ali
dit
yofi
mposi
ti
onofdeat
hsent
encewaschal
l
engedat
manyt
imes.

Deat
hSent
encei
sConst
it
uti
onal:
Fi
rstt i
me i n 1973,the constitut
ionalv al
idi
ty ofcapi talpuni shmentwas
chall
engedint hecaseofJagmohanSi nghv .StateofU. P.(1973)2SCR541,i nthi
s
case,thepetit
ionerchall
engedthevali
dityofdeat hsentenceont hegr oundt hati
twas
vi
olati
veofAr ti
cles19 and 21,becausei tdid notpr ovi
deanypr ocedur e.Itwas
contended thatthepr ocedureprescri
bed byt heCodeofCr i
mi nalProcedur ewas
confl
icti
ngofgui l
tandnotawar di
ngdeat hsentence.Thef i
vejudgesBenchofSupr eme
Courtheldt hatthechoi ceofawar di
ngdeat hsent encei sdonei naccor dancewit
h
procedureestabli
shedbyl aw.

I
n1979,
Deat
hSent
encewashel
dUnconst
it
uti
onal
Again,deathsent encewaschal l
engedinthecaseofRajendraPr asadv.Stateof
U.P.
,AIR1979SC916,wher eJustceVRKr
i i
shnaIyerhel
dt hatcapitalpunishment
wouldnotbej ustif
iedunl essi twasshownt hatt
hecr i
minalwasdanger oust othe
soci
ety.Heheldt hatgi vi
ngdi scr
eti
ont othejudgetomakeachoi cebetweendeat h
sent
enceandl if
ei mprisonmentonspeci alr
easonsunderSection354( e)oftheCode
would be vi
olati
ve ofAr t
icl
e 14 oft he Consti
tut
ion ofIndia,whi ch condemns
arbi
tr
ari
ness.Hepl eadedf ortheaboli
tionofdeathpenalty&r etenti
onofi tonlyfor
puni
shing“WhiteCollarCriminals”
.
I
n1980,
theSupr
emeCour
tRest
oredt
heConst
it
uti
onalVal
idi
ty:
TheHon’bleSupr
emeCourtover
rul
edt hedeci
sionofRaj
endraPr
asadcasein
t
hecaseofBachchanSi
nghv
.StateofPunjab,AI
R1980SC898,wi t
hhol
dingt
hatthe
pr
ovisi
onofdeat
hsent enceunderSecti
on302ofIPCasanal
ter
nat
ivepuni
shmentf
or
murderi
snotvi
olat
iveofArti
cle21oftheConst
it
uti
on.

TheHon’bl
eSupr emeCourtint hecasesofSherSi
nghv .St
ateofPunjab,AIR
1983SC 465 and Al
lauddi
nMi anv .Stat
eofBi har
,AIR 1989SC 1456 uphol
dt he
Const
it
uti
onal
vali
dit
yofdeathsentence.

Butchal lenging t
he const i
tut
ionalv al
idi
ty ofdeat h sentence could notbe
stopped&agai nwaschal l
engedin1991i nt hecaseofJummanKhanv .StateofU.P.
,
AIR1991SC345,agai nt heSupremeCour thashel dthatwear einfullagreementwith
thev i
ewchr onological
lyexpressedinBachchanSi ngh,SherSingh,andAl lauddin’
scase
i
nhol dingthatthedeat hsentenceisconsti
tut i
onal
lyval
id.In1992i nthecaseofShashi
Nay arv .UnionofI ndi
a,AI R 1992SC 395,t heconst i
tuti
onalv al
idit
yoft hedeath
sentencewaschal l
engedbef oretheSupr emeCour templ oyi
ngal mostal lthesame
argument sasinJagmohanandBachchanSi nghcasesear li
er.

I
tcanbeconcludedthatHon’bleSupremeCourthasaff
ir
medt heconst
it
uti
onal
val
i
dityofthedeat
hsentenceinaseriesofcases.Ont
heotherhand,
onlyoncehashel
d
t
hepr ocedur
eunconsti
tut
ionalandviolat
ingArt
icl
e14inthecaseofRajendr
aPrasad,
whichwasov er
rul
edwithi
noney ear
.

“
Rar
estofRar
eCases”Theor
y

TheSupremeCour thasf ormulatedruleoft

he‘ rarestoft her ar
ecases’int he
caseofBachchanSingh,whichwasr eiterat
edinMachhiSi ngh,theguideli
neswhichar e
tobekeptinviewwhenconsi deri
ngthequest i
onwhethert hecasebel ongstotherarest
ofther ar
ecategor
yf orawardingdeat hsentencewerei ndicat
edbyHon’ bl
eSupr eme
Court.Thefol
lowi
ngquestionsmaybeaskedandanswer edasa t esttodet
erminet he
“r
arestofrar
e”caseinwhichdeat hsentencecanbeinfl
icted:

a)I
stheresomethi
ng uncommon aboutthecri
me which render
ssent
enceof
i
mpri
sonmentf
orli
feinadequat
eandcal
l
sforadeat
hsentence?

b)Arethecir
cumstanceofthecr
imesuchthatt
herei
snoalt
ernat
ivebutt
oimpose
deathsentenceevenaf t
eraccordi
ngmaximum,weight
aget othemi t
igat
ing
ci
rcumstancewhichspeakinf
avaouroft
heoff
ender
?

Thef
ollowinggui
deli
neswhichemergef
rom BachchanSinghcasewi
llhav
etobe
appl
iedtot
hef actsofeachindi
vi
dualcasewher
et hequesti
onofimposit
ionofdeat
h
sent
encear
ises:

i
) Theext
remepenalt
yofdeat
hneednotbei
nfl
i
ctedexcepti
ngr
avestcasesof
ext
remecul
pabi
l
ity
.

i
i) Befor
eoptingfort
hedeathpenalt
y,t
hecir
cumstanceoftheoff
enderal
sorequi
re
tobetakenint
oconsi
derati
onalongwit
htheci
rcumstancesofthecr
ime.
i
i) Li
i feimpr i
sonmentist heruleanddeathsentencei sanexcept ion.I
not herwords,
deathsentencemustbei mposed onlywhenl if
eimpr isonmentappear stobean
al
togetherinadequatepunishmenthav i
ngr egardt other elev
antcircumstances
ofthecrime,andpr ovided,andonlyprovi
ded,theopt iont oimposesent enceof
i
mpr i
sonmentofl i
fecannotbeconsci ent
iouslyexer cisedhav i
ngr egardtothe
natur
eandci rcumstanceoft hecr
imeandal ltherelev
antci r
cumst ances.

i
v) Abalancesheetofaggravat
ingandmi t
igati
ngcir
cumstanceshastobedrawnup
andindoingso,themit
igati
ngcircumstanceshavetoberecordedf
ullwei
ghtage
andjustbalancehastobest r
uckbetweent heaggravat
ingandthemi t
igati
ng
ci
rcumstancesbefor
etheopt i
onisexer
cises.

ARGUMENTSI
NFAVOUROFRETENTI
ONOFCAPI
TALPUNI
SHMENT

Ther
earetwogr oupsont hevi
ew ofcapi
talpuni
shment
,onegr
ouparguesin
supporti
ngthecapit
alpunishmentandanot
herarguesagai
nsti
torinsuppor
ti
ngthe
abol
iti
onofcapi
talpuni
shment.

Hon’bl
eJust i
ceDr.M.Hidayatul
lapleadedr et
ent i
onofdeat hsent ence.Hesaid
thathehadnev erfear
edimposingt hedeat hsent encebecausehecomesacr oss
sever
alcaseswheredeathwast heonlyanswer.Hecaut i
oned,howev er,t
hatthebenefi
t
ofdoubtshouldbegiventotheaccused;thejudgeshoul dbeabsol ut
elycommencedof
hisgui
ltandther
eshouldnotbeext enuat
ingcircumst ances.Hecr i
ti
cizedt heSupr
eme
Court
’sdir
ect
ivetoimposethedeathpenaltyonlyinthe“ r
arestofrarecases” .

Thecapi
talpuni
shmenthasbeeninfor
cefrom thetimeimmemor i
al.From the
ancientti
mestomoder nti
mes,themajor
it
yofpenologist
,juri
stsandpol
it
icians,etc.
str
ongl yf
avour
edt hi
spunishment
.Thefoll
owingargument saregiveni
nf av ourof
ret
ainingt
hecapit
alpuni
shment:

i
)Itdeter
speopl eandothercri
minals:Ascapi talpunishmentisthehi
ghest
puni
shmentknownt ot hemansoi thasthemaxi mum det err
enteff
ectingener
al.By
i
mpl ementi
ngcapitalpunishment
,itbecomesasal essont otheremaini
ngpeopleof
thesociet
ytodeterbeforecommitt
inganoffenceofsuchnat ur
e.

i
i)Iti
sasoci alneed:Whenal imboft hebodyofaper sonisdamagedand
spoi
led,andbecomesunabl etobetreated,thedoct
orsoperateitandremovethatl
i
mb
fr
om thebody .Si
milar
ly,whenaper sonhasbecomedanger oustothesociet
y,&heis
notinthepositi
ontober efor
med,sonoexcusecanbegi ventohisheinousact&it
becomessocialneedstor emovesuchper sonfr
om t
hesociety.

ii
i)I
tsavestheSt at
emoney:I facri
minali
sputtocapi
talpunishmentinst
eadof
keepi
nghimi nimprisonmentf orli
fe,i
tsavespubl
icmoney.I
facr iminalisr
etai
nedin
pri
son for14 years,t he Stat
e has toincurhuge moneyon hi m forhi sfoods,
accommodation,medi ci
nes&keepi ngwatchonhi m.Suchcriminalsalsospoil
sthe
brai
nsoftheremaini
ngpr isoners.

i
v)Humani
tar
ian:Nowaday
smaj
ori
tyoft
heSt
ateshav
eadopt
edt
hemet
hodof
execut
ingcapit
alpuni
shment
,whi
chi
slesspai
nfult
othecr
imi
nal
s.Thi
sisf
ormul
ated
dependinguponhumanit
y.

v)I
tisaDef i
nit
e:Capit
alpunishmentisadef i
nit
et y
peofpuni
shment,whi
ch
depri
vesthecri
minal’
sli
fe&exist
ence.Hei st
erminat
edf rom t
heworl
d.Thecri
minal
cannotescapei
nfutur
eandcannottr
oublethesoci
ety.

vi)Iti
sMor alWar:Therearecertai
npersons,whohav
enosensi
bil
i
tyorshame
t
odoi
l
legalact
s.Moreover
,theyf
eelproudindoingthem.

vi
i) Sel
ected process tof i
ght wit
h anti-soci
alelement s : The famous
crimi
nol stDar
ogi winpropoundedthedoct
rine“st
ruggleforexi
stence”.Thi
stheor
ysay s
thatt
heani malswil
lbepreserv
ed,onl
yift
heycanf ightwit
htheirenemyanimals&wi t
h
thenature.Simil
arl
y,t
hesocietycanbepr eserv
edonl yifitcanf i
ghtwithanti
-soci
al
elements.

vii
i)I
tisl
egaldemand:Gener all
y,theprinci
plesofpuni
shmenti
sgrownupfr
om
al egaldemandoft hesociet
y.Capit
alpuni shmentisalsooneofsuchdemands.Ifa
cruel&br ut
almindedcri
minalisnotpunished,&hei slef
tfr
eetomoveint
hesociet
y,i
t
destroysthever
ystruct
ureofthesociet
y.

i
x)I
tisgi
veni
n‘rarestofr
are’case:Thecapit
alpunishmenti
snotimposedf
or
ev
erysmal
lorbi
goff
ences.Iti
simposedingrav
e,unpardonable&hei
nouscr
imes.

x)Reducescr
owdi nJail
s:I tistheonlymethodtoeli
minat
edanger
ous&
habi
tual
cri
minal
s&speci
all
yreci
div
istf
rom t
hesoci
etyf
orev
er.

xi)Recidi
vist(Cri
minal
s,whower epunishedbutaf t
erreleasealsocommi t
off
ence):i
nthecaseofhabi t
ualoff
ender
,whohadmur der
edhisf
riend,&waspunished
wit
hlif
eimprisonment.Hewasr el
easedonparol
e,&duri
ngtheparole,hemurder
edhis
fat
her.Issuchper sonenti
tl
edt obepardoned?C.Dar r
ow.acr iminol
ogi
ststrongl
y
support
scapitalpuni
shment.

ARGUMENTSI
NFAVOUROFABOLI
TIONOFCAPI
TALPUNI
SHMENT

Theprovisi
onofcapi talpuni
shmenthassomanyl i
mi tat
ions.Hence,thejur
ists,
penol ogists,cri
minologi
st,lawy ers,etc.sever
elycri
ti
cizeit
.Theybegant oar guethat
the“ thecrimei sadisease,andt hegermsshouldbeer adi
cated”.Forthefaul
tofsociety,
thel aw shoul dnotblamet hecr iminal
.Gandhij
iwast heforemostpr oposerofabol i
sh
capitalpuni shment.Hepr eachedAhi msa.Hepl eadedthat“ hatethesin,butnott he
sinner ”.Someoft hei mpor tantargument sgiv
ent oaboli
sht hecapitalpuni
shmentar e
asf ollows:
i
)Capi
talpuni
shmentcannotdet
ert
hecr
imi
nal
sandpeopl
e:
Thesuppor t
ersofaboli
ti
onofcapi talpunishmentur gethatimposi
ngthecapital
th t
h
punishment,neit
herdetert
hepubl i
cnocr iminals.Upto18 and19 cent uryt
hecapital
punishmentwasexecut ed as “publi
cf unctions”
.Thepeopl e used t
o att
end such
hangingfuncti
onsinhugecrowdsj ustli
kewi tnessi
ngofpi ctur
es,ormarri
agefunct
ions.
Theycamewi thenthusi
asm,anxiety.Duet oheav yrush,100per sonsweredi
edduet o
stampedeandf ights.

i
i)I
tisnotaSoci
alNeed:
I
ndeedadamagedl imbsooper at
edfrom t
hebodyofaper sonbythedoctor
sto
savetheremaini
ngbody.Insomeoft heoccasi
ons,cert
ainart
ifi
cialli
mbs,orl
imbsfrom
otherpersonscan also be t
ranspl
anted t
o savet hepatient.Ev en t
hen i
n sever
e
ci
rcumstancespati
entdi
es.Isthedoctorr
esponsi
bleforhisdeath?

Inthesamemanner ,acrimi
nalcanbetransplantedfrom cri
minalbehaviourto
l
aw-abi
dingciti
zens,byadoptingrefor
mativ
e&psy chotherapymet hods.Itisalsoa
soci
alneedtoconv erthi
mintoagoodciti
zenbecausepr imari
lyt
hesoci et
yitsel
fisthe
pri
mecentreforoffences.I
fwehangoneormor eper sonsaday ,hundredpeoplebegin
todocri
minalacts.Towhatextent&howmanyper sonscanbehanged?

i
ii
)Itdoesnotsavet
hepubl
icmoney:
Capi
talpuni
shmentcannotsavethepubli
cmoney.Bykill
i
ngaperson,whoisa
gi
ftofgod,wedet er
mi nehimfr
om theeart
h&wesayt hatiti
seconomi
csavingt
othe
publi
cmoney .Itisri
dicul
ousopini
on;onecannotcal
cul
atetheval
ueofhumanbeing
gi
ftedbythenatureandGod.

i
v)Capi
talPuni
shmenti
sinhumaneandbar
bar
ic:
I
tisri
diculousargumentt
hatbykil
l
ingacri
minalwit
hlesspai
ns&suff
eri
ngsin
humanitar
ianthing. Thecri
minal
swhokepti napr i
sonsforalongyear
s,l
osethei
r
temper,anger,cruel
ty,sadi
sm,etc.Thepri
son’
slif
echangeshimi nt
oachastened
person.

v)Lawi
snotdef
ini
ti
vebutchanges:
Law changesf r
om ti
met ot i
medependi nguponthecircumstances.Upt o18th
cent
uryt herewassl averysyst
em int heenti
reworld,howeverin20th cent
uryitwas
abol
ished.Similar
ly,t
herewasagr eathonourtoSatibefor
eLor dBentick’
stime,who
abol
ishedi t
,andmadei tanoffence,&thepersonswhoabet stodoSat iar
esev er
ely
puni
shed.

vi
)Mor
alval
uesar
enoti
nher
it
ed:
 Themor alit
yet hi
csarenott ransf
err
edfrom parenttohi schil
dren.Moral
sar e
taughttothechildrenf rom f
amily
,teachers,
col
leaguesandf ri
endsinthesociet
y.There
areseveralcauses, economic,psycho,physi
cal
,soci
al,pol
it
ical,
etc.causesforaperson
changedintoacr imi nal.

Uni
t-I
II

PRI
SONREFORMS
I
NTRODUCTI
ON

“Pri
sonsshoul dbechangedi
ntohospit
alst
ogi v
et r
eatmentt
ooffender
stobri
ng
them ont hecor rectli
ne.Offi
cerofthejailshoul
dbechangedi nt
oadoct or
.The
offendersshal
lfeelthatof
fi
cersoft
hejai
larethei
rfr
iends.”
- Mahat
ma
Gandhi
Thepri
meobj ectofthepuni shmentwast ogivealessontoeit
hertheperson,
who had commi tt
ed an of f
ence ort he per
son who was ment al
l
y prepari
ng for
commi ssionofacr i
me.I twasi ndet erri
ngform,from t
hebei ngofthecriminal
i
ty.
Ini
ti
all
y,thecorr
ect
ionaljuri
sprudencest atedt
hatthepunishmentwasgivent odeter
the‘wouldbeoff
ender’andnott ocorr
ectt heof
fender
s.

Correct
ioninitsbroadersense,meansr eshaping,re-educati
ng&r eformingthe
i
ndivi
dual,atti
tude&f eel
ingsoft heanti-
soci
alnaturewhi chhav ecul
minatedintohis
i
ncarcerati
onorcommi t
talto somepenali nstit
uti
onf orcust ody.Inapenol ogical
par
lance,itisaprocessoftreat
ment ,r
eformat
ion,&r ehabil
it
ationoftheoffenderwitha
vi
ewt oconv erti
nghimintoself-
respect
inglawabiding&soci all
yresponsi
blecit
izenof
aparti
cularsociety
.

Apersonwhoi sonceacri
mi nal
,neednotal
waysbeacri
mi nal
.Asamat terof
fact
,nobody i s bor
n as a cr
iminal.Cri
minalbehavi
ourist
he r esul
tofsoci al
,
psychol
ogical&mentalf
actor
s&theycanof t
enbecuredbysy
mpatheti
cunder
standing
&scienti
fi
ctreat
ment.

Prisoni nI ndiaarenotgov er
neduni f
or ml
ywithev eryStat
eappl y
ingdi f
ferent
r
ules&regul ati
ons.I n1959,aModelPr i
sonManualwaspr eparedbytheGov ernmentof
I
ndiafort hepur poseofupdat ing&r evisingt heStat
eManual s.Itwasalsomeantt o
l
endunifor mitytor ul
es&r egulat
ionsasal sot opr
ocedure&modeofpuni shment.20
y
earslater,inter
-stateconferenceadmi ttedt hatmodel,butunf or
tunat
ely,astudyon
i
mplement ation ofi t,f
ound in 1983 that ,theModelPr i
son Manualhad notbeen
i
mplement edi nmostoft heState.

I
n1995,t
hewor
krel
ati
ngt
opr
isonswast
ransf
err
edt
otheBur
eauofPol
i
ce
Resear
ch and DevelopmentbytheMi ni
str
yofHomeAf f
air
s.Earli
er,t
heAl lIndi
a
CommitteeonJailRefor
ms(1980-
83)hadalsoemphasi
zedt
heneedf oraconsol
idat
ed
l
awonpr isons.I
n2003,BPRDfor
mulat
edaModel Pri
sonManual
,2004.

Or
igi
nofPr
isonI
nst
it
uti
oni
nIndi
a:

Thehist
oricalaccountofj ai
lsinourcountr
ycanbet racedbackt otheEpicage.
nRamay
I ana,whenBhar at
hameet sRamaatChi tr
akut ,
thelatter,
whi lemakingdetai
led
i
nquiryaboutthestateofpol i
tyandwel f
areofpeopleofAy odhy a,didnotforgett
oelici
t
i
nformationont hesi t
uat i
oninjailther
e.Refer
encesofj ailareal sof oundduri
ngt he
perodofMahabhar
i atha.Inthosemy t
hologi
calperiods18i mpor tantStateoffi
cial
s
werethere&oneoft hem wast heheadoftheinsti
tut
ionofjail.

nManusmr
I i
tii
tisst
atedthat“
theki
ngshoul
dhav eal
lthepr
isonsbui
l
tont
he
r
oyal
highway
,wher
ethesuf
feri
ngandmuti
lat
edevi
ldoer
scanbeseen”.

TheArcheol
ogicalSurv
eyofIndi
ahasf oundthejai
li chAj
nwhi atasatr
uconfi
ned
hi
sf herBi
at mbasar aatRajgri
ha,t
hecapitalofMagadha(themoder
nBi har
).Thepre-
Buddhistjai
lsweresai dt o beverycruel.AccountofAshoka’
sNaraka( hel
l)was
i
ncludedinthewrit
ingsofHuienTsangandFa- Hi
en.

JOURNEYTOWARDSREFORMATI
ON:

Therearediff
erentvi
ewsont heor i
gi nofpri
sonadminist
rati
oninIndia.Some
schol
arsbeli
evethattheori
gini
nIndi
anst ar t
edfr
om theVedicperi
od,Guptaper i
od&
Bri
ti
sh Indi
a.Ev en t
hough allthe scholars ar
e agreed t
hatr efor
mati
on i n Jai
l
Admini
strat
ionstar
tedf r
om 1835.Beforet hatnoonehast houghtofi mprovi
ngt he
condi
ti
onofprison.

Themoder npr i
sonadmi ni
str
ati
onisthepr oductofBr i
ti
shactivi
ty&theirr
ule
overIndia.Mull
aCommi tt
ee( AllI
ndiaCommi tt
eeonJai lRef or
ms,1980-83)revi
ewing
pr
isonr efor
msi nI ndi
a,statedthat“ourcont
empor ar
yprisonadmi ni
str
ati
onisalegacy
oftheBr i
ti
shrule”addi ngt hatLordMcCaul eyast heaut horofI ndianPenalCode,
pr
ov i
dedf orimprisonmentast hemostcommonl yusedinst
r umentofpenaltreat
ment.
McCaul eysaidthat“ i
mpr i
sonmenti sthepuni
shmentt owhichwemustchi ef
lytr
ust.I
t
wil
lprobablyber esort
edt oinninetycasesoutofeveryhundred.”
LordMcCaul ey,asthefi
rstLawMemberoftheGov er
norGeneral
’sCounci
l
,inhis
minutesdat edDecember14, 1835,madeoutacasefortheappoi
ntmentofCommi tt
ee
f
orcol lect
ing inf
ormat i
on on thestat
eofIndi
an pri
sonsand pr epared apl
an for
i
mpr ovingprisondisci
pli
ne.
 E.C.Wi nesobser
v edt hat
, ‘
thepri
sonsystem inIndianEmpi re,
li
ketheBrit
ishrul
e
i
tselfi
nt hatcountr
y,hasgr ownupbydegr ees,
untilast heempirewasconsolidatedand
orderintroducedintoalldepar t
ment soft heGov ernment ,thetreatmentofcriminal
s
tookit
spl aceamongt her ecognizedbranchesofthej udici
aladminist
rati
on’
.

H.S.Str
atcheymadeasur veyofjai
laccommodat
ionthr
oughoutt
heterri
tor
iesof
t
heEastIndiaCompanyi n1805.Befor
e1835,‘ther
ewere43civi
l,75cr
iminaland68
mixedj
ail
s’i
ntheterri
tor
iesunderthecompany.

a)Fi
rstCommi
ssi
ononPr
isonDi
sci
pli
ne,
1834:

Til
l1834,publi
cat t
enti
onwasnotst rongl
ydrawnt opr i
son.Themur derof
ThomasRi char
dson,t
heMagistrateof24Parganas&t heSuperi
ntendentofthejai
l
,at
the Pr
esi
dencyofCal cutt
a,was t he mov
ing cause ofpubli
c attent
ion t
ot he j
ail
probl
ems.(LordMcCauleyCommi ssi
onReport
,1835)

b)ThePr
isonDi
sci
pli
neCommi
tt
ee,
1836

LordWi ll
i
am Bentickappoi ntedthesecondcommi tteeonJanuar y2,1836under
theChai rmanshipofH.Shakespear e,amemberofGov ernorGener al’
sCounci l.This
Commi t
teei sknownast hePr i
sonDi scipl
ineCommi t
tee.Theysubmi tt
edar eportin
1838t o LordAuckl and.Themaj orobser v
ationwer e“ t
her ampantcor r
upti
oni nt he
establi
shment ,l
axit
yofdi scipl
ineandt hesy stem ofemploy ingpri
soner sonext ramur al
l
abour .TheCommi t
teer ecommendedi ncreasedr i
goroust r
eat
mentandr ejectedal l
notionsofr efor
mingcr i
mi nalsthroughmor alandreli
gioust eachi
ng,educat ion,orany
system ofr ewards forgood conduct ”.Itr ecommended separ ation ofunder trial
pri
sonersf r
om theconv i
ctandest abl
ishing‘Offi
ceofInspect orGeneral ofPri
son’.

c)Fi
rstJai
lRef
orm Commi
tt
ee,
1838

Thecondit
ionsofthejai
lswer
ehorri
ble&thei
renvi
ronmentwaspol l
utedinthe
beginni he19thcent
ngoft ur
y.LordMcCaul
eyatt
ract
edtheattenti
onoftheGovernment
fi
rsttimein1838.FirstJai
lRefor
m Committ
eewasconstituted,whi
chrecommended
thefoll
owingsuggest
ions:

i
) ACent
ralJai
lShoul
dbeconst
it
utedwi
thf
oll
owi
ngmer
it
s:

1) Pr
isoner
swhower
egi
veni
mpr
isonmentf
ormor
ethanoney
earshoul
dbekept
inthesej
ail
s.

2)Thesej
ail
sshoul
dbei
naposi
ti
ont
okeep1000pr
isoner
satat
ime.

i
i)I nev er
yst at
eaPr i
sonerI
nspectorshoul
dbeappoint
ed.Ther
efor
e,U.P.
(1844),Punj ab (1852,Bengal( 1854),and Bombay (
1862)appoint
ed
PrisonerInspector.

i
ii
) Ther
eshoul
dbeper
fectcondi
ti
onst
oli
vei
nal
lthej
ail
s
d)SecondJai
lRef
orm Commi
tt
ee,
1862

I
n1862,SecondJailr
eform Commit
teewasconst
it
uted.Thi
sCommi
tt
eegav
e
t
hef
oll
owi
ngsuggesti
onsaft
erexamini
ngmanyjai
l
s:

i
) Thecondi
ti
onsofther
esi
dence,f
ood& cl
othesoft
hepr
isoner
sshoul
dbe
i
mprovedi
never
yjai
l
.

i
i) MedicalOf
ficer
sshouldbeappoi
nted&medi
calf
aci
l
iti
esshoul
dbepr
ovi
dedi
n
eachCentr
al &Dist
ri
ctj
ail
.

i
ii
) Cr
imi
nal
sshoul
dbecl
assi
fi
edont
hebasi
sofnat
ure&sev
eri
tyoft
heof
fence.

i
v) Ther
eshould beprovi
sionsforkeepi
ng 15% of t
hepr
isoner
sint
o sol
i
tar
y
conf
inementi
neachcent
ralJai
l.

Besidesthese,3rd,4th & 5th Commit

teealso wer
econst
itut
ed on t
he
Ref
ormat
ionofJailAdmini
str
ation&di f
fer entr
ecommendati
onswer
egivenbythem &
someoft
hem wereacceptedbyt heGover nment

e) SecondCommi
ssi
ononJai
lManagementandDi
sci
pli
ne,
1864

SecondCommi ssionwasappoi ntedi n1864,toreconsidert hewhol equest i

on
addressed by the f i
rstcommi t
tee.The Lor d Dalhousie appointed i tundert he
chairmanshipofSirJohnLawr encetoexami nethecondi t
ionoft hej ail
sinIndia.The
Brit
ishregimewasonl yinter
estedintheprisonfrom t
hepoi ntofviewofadmi ni
st r
ati
on
and discipli
ne.This Commi ssi
on made speci fi
cr ecommendat i
ons r egar
ding the
accommodat i
on,i
mpr ovementi ndiet
,clot
hing,beddi
ng,medi calcar eoft hepri
soners
andf ortheappoint mentofMedi calOffi
cersinalljail
s.Thi scommi ssionfi
xedt he
requir
ed mi ni
mum space f orone pr i
soneras 54 sq.f t.and 640 cubi cf t
.The
Commi ssionalsor ecommendedt hesepar ati
onofmal epr isonersf rom femaleand
chil
drenfrom adul
ts.

f
)Thi
rdCommi
ssi
onorConf
erenceatCal
cut
ta,
1877

Aconf erenceofexper tswasconv enedi n1877atCal cutt

atoi nquireint
opr i
son
admi ni
str
ation.ThisCommi ssionor“ Conference”asitwascal ledinBr iti
shIndia,on
prisonandconv i
cttreatmenti nIndiawassummonedbyt heImperialgov ernment.The
studies & concl usions ext ended ov er the wholef i
eld of pr i
son di sci
pli
ne &
admi ni
str
ation.Maj orf i
ndings– l awsr el
atingtopr i
son– i ncompl et
e,i mperf
ect&
nowher elaydowngr eatleadingprincipl
esofpr i
sondisci
pli
ne.Remedypr oposedbyt he
Conf er
ence–enact mentofnewl aw.
g)TheFour
thJai
lCommi
ssi
on,
1888

Appoi
ntedbyLordDuf
fer
int
oinqui
rei
ntothefact
sofpri
son.Thi
sCommi ssi
on
r
evi
ewedt heearl
ierr
epor
ts&madeanexhausti
veinqui
ryi
ntoallmatt
ersconnect
ed
wi
thjai
ladmini
str
ati
on.

h)I
ntr
oduct
ionoft
hePr
isonsAct
,1894

I
nconsequencediver
gentsystemsofjailmanagementhasgrownupi nsev
eral
pr
ovince,wherebytheuni
for
m enforcementofsent
encesofimpri
sonmentcoul
dnotbe
ef
fecti
velyexecut
ed.Somesali
entfeatur
esoftheActwere:

i
) TheActdescri
besaboutt
hepr
isonadmi
nist
rat
ion&or
gani
zat
ionalst
ruct
ureof
thepr
isonst
aff
.

i
i) Dut
iesoft
hepr
isonof
fi
cer
s&t
hei
rsubor
dinat
ion.

i
ii
) Expl
ainst
hepr
ovi
si
onsr
elat
ingt
oadmi
ssi
on,
remov
al&di
schar
geofpr
isoner
s.

i
v) Cl
assi
fi
cat
ionofpr
isoner
sinpr
ison.

v
) Food,
clot
hing&beddi
ngofci
vi
l&unconv
ict
edcr
imi
nal
pri
soner
s.

v
i) Empl
oymentofpr
isoner
s.

v
ii
) Pr
otect
ionoft
heheal
thofpr
isoner
s.

v
ii
i) Soci
alv
isi
tst
opr
isoner
s.

i
x) Pr
isonof
fences&t
hei
rremedi
es.

x) PowerofStateGover
nmentt
omaker
ulesbynot
if
icat
ioni
ntheof
fi
cialGazet
te
matt
errel
atedwit
hpri
son.

i
)Int
roduct
ionoft
hePr
isoner
sAct
,1900

AnActwasenact edtoconsoli
datet
helawrel
ati
ngtopri
soner
sconf i
nedbyorder
ofacourtandtobeconstruedasrefer
ri
ngalsot
oReformator
ySchools.I
nit
ial
l
ythi
sAct
consi
stedofthef
oll
owingpr ov
isi
ons:

i
) Pr
isoner
sint
hePr
esi
dency
-Towns&out
sidet
hePr
esi
dency
-Towns;

i
i) Remov
alofPr
isoner
s;

i
ii
) Per
sonsundersent
enceofTr
anspor
tat
ion;

i
v) Di
schar
geofPr
isoner
s;and

v
) Pr
ovi
sionsf
orr
equi
ri
ngt
heat
tendanceofPr
isoner
sandobt
aini
ngt
hei
rev
idence

j
)Indi
anJai
lCommi
tt
ee,
1919-
20
 In1919,anIndianJailCommi tt
eewasconst i
tut
edheadedbySi rAlexander
Car
dio.ThisCommi
tteeaft
erstudy
ingthejai
lsi
nt hecount
ryandabroadconcl
udedthat
I
ndi
anj ai
l
shadimpr
ov edonlyi
nthefi
ledoffood,heal
th&labournotinot
herfi
eld.

Thei
mpor
tantsuggest
ionsoft
hisCommi
tt
eear
easf
oll
ows:

i
) Thej
ail
sshoul
dbel
ookedupbyt
het
rai
nedof
fi
cer
sonl
y.

i
i) TheJail
ershoul
dbeaperson,whoi
sexper
iencedi
nthejai
ladmi
nist
rat
ionand
i
nsteadofPol
iceOf
fi
cer
,Doct
orofAr
myshouldbepref
err
ed.

i
ii
) I
nev
eryj
ail
,apr
esi
dingdoct
orofj
ail
shoul
dbeappoi
nted.

i
v) Thegat
ekeeperoft
hej
ail
shoul
dbeal
i
ter
ateper
sononl
y.

v
) Thepr
isonershoul
dbecl
assi
fi
edashabi
tual
&casual
off
ender
s.

v
i) Thepr
isoner
sshoul
dbekeptt
oget
her
,noti
sol
ated.

v
ii
) Inthepri
son,t
hesel
ect
ionofapr
isonerasapr
isonof
fi
cershoul
dbei
nrar
e
casesonl
y.

v
ii
i) Thefundament
alai
m behi
ndt
hel
abourf
rom acr
imi
nalshoul
dber
efor
mat
ive
onl
y.

i
x) Thepuni
shmentoff
loggi
ngi
sinhumane,
itshoul
dbeabol
i
shed.

x) Theoffender
swhoar
epuni
shedf
ormor
ethan6mont
hsshoul
dbegi
vensome
pr
ivi
l
eges.

xi
) Theof
fender
sshoul
dbeatl
i
ber
tyt
owr
it
e&r
ecei
vel
ett
ers.

xi
i) Theoff
ender
sshoul
dbeatl
i
ber
tyt
omeetwi
tht
hei
rfami
l
ymember
s,r
elat
ives
andf
ri
ends.

xi
ii
) I
nthepr
ison,
ther
eshoul
dbeal
i
brar
yfort
hedev
elopmentoft
hei
rment
alst
atus.

xi
v) Theof
fendershoul
dbepr
ovi
dedwi
tht
wopai
rsofcl
othes.

xv
) Thef
oodpr
ovi
dedshoul
dbegood&nut
ri
ti
onal
.

xv
i) Theof
fender
sbel
owt
heageof25y
ear
sshoul
dbegi
venf
reedom ofst
udy
.

xv
ii
) Thepar
olesy
stem shoul
dbei
mpl
ement
ed.

xv
ii
i) Attheti
meofr
elease,
thei
nmat
eshoul
dbehel
dtor
ehabi
l
itat
eint
hesoci
etyand
famil
y.

xi
x) Ther
eshoul
dbepr
ovi
sionsj
uveni
l
ehomesf
ort
hej
uveni
l
eof
fender
s.
xx) Juv
eni
l
eof
fender
sshoul
dbekeptsepar
atef
rom t
hepr
isoner
simpr
isonedt
oli
fe.

xxi
) Generall
y,t
heoffendersshoul
dnotbesentt
oAndaman.I
tshoul
dbef
ort
he
dangerousoff
endersonly
.

xxi
i) Aconst
ruct
ionwor
kshoul
dbet
akenf
rom t
heof
fender
s.

k)Gov
ernmentofI
ndi
aAct
,1919

Wit
ht heIndi
anJailCommit
tee1919-
20in1919theGover
nmentofIndi
aActwas
i
ntroduced,accordi
ngtowhi chpr
isonwasmadet hesubj
ectoftheStat
e.Duet
ot hat
speedoft her efor
mati
onoft hejai
ldecr
easedandtodaytheposit
ionofthej
ail
si s
dif
ferenti
nev erySt
ate.

l
)Jai
lRef
orm Commi
tt
ee,
1946

ACommit
teewasconsti
tut
edi ntheyear1946f
ort
her
efor
mat
ionoft
hej
ail
s.
Thi
sCommi
tt
eehasgav
ethefol
lowingsuggest
ions:

i
) Thechi
l
dof
fender
sshoul
dbet
reat
eddi
ff
erent
ly.

i
i) Moder
njai
l
sshoul
dbeconst
ruct
ed.

i
ii
) Thecl
assi
fi
cat
ionoft
heof
fender
sshoul
dbesci
ent
if
ic

Besides above r ecommendat

ions, t
he Commi t
tee r ecommended the
di
ver
sif
icati
onofinst
it
uti
onsbasedonage,sex,cr
imi
nalr
ecord,secur
it
ycondi
ti
onand
tr
eat
ment .

i
) Ar
chi
tect
ureandbui
l
ding.

i
i) Accommodat
ion.

i
ii
) Const
it
uti
onofAdv
isor
yBoar
ds.

i
v) Recr
uit
ment
,sel
ect
ion&t
rai
ningofpr
isonper
sonnel
.

v
) Di
sci
pli
ne.

v
i) Basi
cfaci
l
iti
es.

v
ii
) Dai
l
yrout
ine&educat
ionf
orpr
isoner
s.

v
ii
i) Vocat
ional
trai
ning.

i
x) Af
ter
car
e&r
ehabi
l
itat
ion.
 x) Cat
egor
izat
ionofpr
isoner
s

I
NDEPENDENCEOFI
NDI
ABOOSTEDTHEJOURNEY:

Afteri ndependenceofI ndia,theworkontherefor

mationofjail
sspeededup.I t
wasaccept edt hatpri
sonersareal sohumanbeingsandtheyhaveal
lthebasicrightsof
humanity
.So,i n 1956,the puni shmentoft r
anspor
tati
on was substi
tut
ed byt he
i
mprisonmentf orli
fe.Var
iousst epshadbeentakenforthetr
eatmentoftheof f
ender s.
Acommi tteeappoi ntedbyGov ernmentofIndi
ahadsubmi t
tedareportaft
erstudyingof
110Central Jail
sand69Di str
ictJai l
s.

I
ntr
oduct
ionofPsy
chi
atr
icTr
eat
mentSy
stem :(
1949)

I
ntr
oduct
ionofOpenPr
ison:(
1949)

Republ
icofI
ndi
aPi
ckupt
heMoment
um

TheConst i
tuti
onofIndia,inAr t
icle246empower stheSt ateLegislaturetomake
thelawsonanyoft hemat terofList-I
I.ItmeansStateonlyauthorizedtomakel awson
anysubj ectl
ist
edi ntheList-I
Ioft heSev ent
hSchedul eoftheConst i
tuti
on.Ent ry-
4of
theSev ent hSchedule’
sList
-II
,statesthemat terrel
ati
ng“Pri
sons, r
ef or
mat oreis,Borst al
i
nstitutions and otherinstit
uti
ons ofa l i
ke nature,and persons det ained t herein;
arr
angement swi t
hot herStatesf ortheuseofPr i
sonsandot herinsti
tuti
ons. ”Dur ing
earl
y1950’ sanumberofj ai
lr efor
m commi tt
eeswer eappoi ntedbyv ariousSt ate
Gover nment swiththeaim ofachi ev
ingt hegoalofhumani sat
ioni npr i
sonandt oput
thetreat mentofoffendersonasci entifi
cfooti
ng.

I
ntr
oduct
ionoft
heTr
ansf
erofPr
isoner
sAct
,1959

Reckl
essCommi
ssi
onRepor
t,1952

I
ntr
oduct
ionoft
hePr
isoner
s(At
tendancei
nCour
ts)Act
,1955

TheAl
lIndi
aJai
lsManualCommi
tt
ee1957-
59

I
ntr
oduct
ionoft
hePr
obat
ionofOf
fender
sAct
,1958

Al
lIndi
aCommi
tt
eeonJai
lRef
orms,
1980-
83:

In1980,GovernmentofIndiaconsti
tut
edAl lI
ndiaCommi tt
eeonJailRefor
ms
underthechairmanshipofJusti
ceAnandNar ainMulla.Ther ecommendat
ionsofthis,
univer
sall
yknownasMul l
aCommi ssi
on,consti
tuteal andmar kintherefor
matory
approachtoprisonr
eforms.Thecommi ssi
onmadet horoughst udyoft
hepr
oblemsand
producedanexhaustivedocument.TheJailRefor
m Commi ttee,1980-
83hasgiventhe
fol
lowingrecommendationsi
nthisregar
d:
i
)Depart
mental
izat
ion:Thereshal
lbei
neachSt
ate&Uni
onTerr
it
oryaDepar
tmentof
Pr
ison&Cor
rect
ionalser
vicesdeal
i
ngwi
tht
headul
t&they
oungoff
ender
s.

i
i)UnderTrialPri
soner
s( UTPs):The St ate shal
lendeavourto evol
ve pr
oper
mechani
sm t
oensur
ethatnoundert
ri
alpr
isoneri
sunnecessar
il
ydetai
ned.

i
ii
)Al ternati
vestoi mpr
isonment:Si nceitisr ecogni
zedt hatimpri
sonmenti snot
al
way st hebestwayt o meettheobj ect
ivesofpuni shment,thegov ernmentshall
endeav ourtoprovideinlaw,new alter
nati
vest oimprisonmentsuchascommuni t
y
servi
ce,f or
fei
tur
eofpropert
y,paymentofcompensat iontovict
ims,publi
ccensure,et
c
i
naddi tiontotheonesalr
eadyexist
ing,&shallspeci
fi
call
yensurethattheProbat
ionof
Offender sAct
,1958isef
fecti
vel
yimplementedthroughoutthecountr
y.

i
v)Essentialfuncti
ons:Probati
on,aft
ercar
e,rehabi
l
itat
ion,&f
oll
owupoffendersshall
for
m ani ntegralpartoft
hef uncti
onsoft heDepartmentofprisonandcorrect
ional
ser
vices.

v)Sui
tabl
eli
vingcondi
ti
ons:Li
vingcondi
ti
onsinev
erypr
ison&al
l
iedi
nst
it
uti
onsshal
l
becompati
blewit
hhumandigni
tyinal
laspect
s.

vi
)PrisonCadr e:Pr
isonservi
ceshallbedev el
opedasapr ofessi
onalcareerser
vice.
The State shal
lendeavourto develop a wellorgani
zed pri
son cadre based on
appr
opriat
ejobrequi
rements,
soundtraini
ng&properpromoti
onalavenues.

vi
i)OpenPrison:Pr i
sonsar
ehi
ther
t oaclosedwor ld.Itsinecessarytoopenthem to
someki ndofpositi
veandpubl
i
cdi scer
nment .Selectedeminentpubl i
cmenshal lbe
author
izedt
ov i
sitpr
ison&gi
vei
ndependentreportont hem t
oappr opri
ateaut
hori
ti
es.

vi
ii
)Planned and sy
stemat
icdevelopment:Thedev el
opmentofpri
sonsshallbe
pl
annedinasystemati
cmannerkeepi
nginvi
ewtheobj
ecti
ves&goal
stobeachi
eved.

i
x)Resourceal
locat
ion:Thegovernmentatt
heCentr
e&int heSt
ate/
UnionTer
ri
tor
ies
shal
lendeav
ourtoprovi
deadequat
eresour
cesfort
hedev
elopmentofpri
son.

x)Nat i
onalDevelopmentPl an :The gov er
nmentr ecognizes t
hatthe pr
ocess of
ref
ormationandrehabil
it
ati
onofof fender
si sanint
egralpar tofthetot
alprocessof
soci
alreconst
ruct
ion,andtheref
ore,t
hedev el
opmentofpr i
sonshallfi
ndaplaceinthe
nati
onaldevel
opmentplans.

I
ntr
oduct
ionoft
heJuv
eni
leJust
iceAct
,1986

I
ntr
oduct
ionofJuv
eni
leJust
ice(
Car
eandPr
otect
ionofChi
ldr
en)Act
,2000

I
ntr
oduct
ionoft
heRepat
ri
ati
onofPr
isoner
sAct
,2003

ModelPr
isonManual
,2003

Moder
nizat
ionofPr
isonPol
ici
es
Concl
usi
on

OPENPRI
SON
I
NTRODUCTI
ON

Theprisonmeanst heplacewhichisusedbyt heStat

eAuthori
tyforlodgi
ngt he
pri
soners.Theper sonwhohasbeenawar dedwi thsent
encebythecompet entcourtis
cal
ledconv i
ctedpr i
soner.Pri
sonsarewal l
edatev er
yplace,i
nIndiather
ear epri
sons
wit
houtwal land,mor eover,pri
soner
sar eall
owedt ostayinopenairwi t
hf amil
y.To
i
mpl ementther ef
ormativ
et heorywealsoint
roducedtheopenpri
son.

Itisneedt osaythat,pri
soner sarenottryi
ngtoescapefrom openprisonexcept
rarestoft herarecases.InI
ndiaDr .Sampur nanandhasintr
oducedthissystem,i
nit
ial
ly
i
nt heSt ateofU.P,in1952,si ncet hent heconceptoftheopenpr isonisdevel
oped
slowly,inal mostalltheStatesi nthecount r
yandhav i
ngoneormor eopenpr i
sons.
Todayt hebestandmor edev elopedopenpr isoninIndiaare SanganerOpenJai l
Rajasthan&Lal golaOpenAi rPrison( Murshi
dabad)WestBengal.I
nI ndiat
hesetwoar e
theonlypr ison,
whichallowi
ngpr isonerstostaywitht
hei
rfamili
es.

Meani
ngandDev
elopmentof“
OpenPr
ison”

Asthewordi t
selfsaysthat
,openpri
sonmeans“ pri
sonwi t
houtwal
l”
.Thisisa
pl
acewheretheprisonercanmov efr
eelyandfeel
sasaf amilymemberoft hepri
son,
butst
il
lsometer
ri
torial
restr
ict
ioni
simposedonthem butnofett
er,nol
eg-
ir
onorali
ke.

AccordingtoUNCongr ess,“
Anopenpr i
soni scharacter
izedbytheabsenceof
mat er
ialorphy si
calpr
ecaut
ionsagainstescape( wall
s,locks,bars,ar
med,orspread
securi
tyguar ds)andbyasy stem basedonsel f-
disci
pli
neandt heinmat
es’senseof
responsibi
l
itytowardst
hegroupinwhichhelives”

Dr
.C.P.Tandonhaschar
act
eri
zedOpenPr
isonas

a)Thedegreeoff
reedom f
rom phy
sicalpr
ecaut
ionssuchaswal
l
s,l
ocks,bar
sand
speci
alguar
ds;
 b)The extentwhich t
he regime is based on sel
f-
disci
pli
ne & t
he i
nmat
es’
responsi
bil
i
tyt
owardsthegroups.

Theobject
iveofopenpri
soni
stoaim atthedevel
opmentofsel
f-
respectand
senseofr
esponsi
bil
it
yaswell
asusef
ulpr
epar
ati
onforfr
eedom.

Ai
msandObj
ectoft
heOpenPr
ison

Forthe r ehabili
tati
on and pr e-r
elease prepar ation the AllIndia JailManual
Commi ttee has suggest ed t he sy stem ofopen pr i
son camps.Accor di
ng t oits
consider edview, “
trai
ningofi nmat esinf r
eedom, whileinpr isonisapecul i
arpr obl
em in
correctionwor k”.Inclosedinst i
tuti
onst hel ong-
ter m prisonersstandt heriskofget t
ing
poisoned.I fpr oper l
yor ganized,semiopen and open t r ai
ning i
nstit
utesand open
col
oni esshoul df urnishsomesol uti
oni nt hisrespect .Int het r
eatmentofof fenders,
emphasi shast obeputnotont heirexclusionfr
om soci etybutont heircont i
nuingpar t
ofit.Thesupr emeai m ofthepr isondi scipli
neist her eformat i
onofcr iminal
s,nott he
i
nfli
ctionofv indicti
vesuf f
ering.Anot heraimi stor educeov er-
crowdinginthej ail
s.

ItisobservedbyUPJailEnquiryCommit
tee,1955-
56thattheult
imateobj
ectof
thepuni shmenti stomaketheant i-
soci
alper
soni nt
ogoodci t
izen.A senseofco-
operati
vesoci alli
vi
ngcanbebet terinsti
l
ledi
ntoinmatesundersemi -
openoropen
trai
ninginst
it
utionsthani
ncl
oserprisons.

SirLionelW Foxobservedt
hatofallthemethodsbywhichaprisonregimemay
hopet oinculcat
esel f
-r
espectandself-
responsi
bil
i
tyandinot herwaypr epar
ethe
pri
sonersforanat ionalli
feinsoci
ety
,thei nst
it
uti
onappear
st obei tsel
fthemost
eff
ecti
ve.

Theopenpri
sonorwalll
esspr
isonsaim cor
rect
ionoft
heoff
endersinaperfect
humanwaysothattheof
fender
smaylivedi
gnif
iedandpeacef
ull
i
vesaft
erthei
rrel
ease.

Openj ai
lhasemer gedasamaj orinnov ativeintheprogressiv
et reat
mentand
rehabil
itationofi ncarceratedoffenders.Thepr esentconceptoft heopenpr i
soni s
diff
erentf rom theear li
erone.Ther ei sadi f
fer encei nearl
ieropenpr i
sonandt he
presentone.I nthepr esentconceptofopenpr isononeper sont ot
aket heroll
-cal
linthe
mor ni
ngbef oregoingt oworkplaceandonr eturninginev eni
ngbef or
esunset .During
thewhol et imet heyar ef r
eetowor katanyplacebuti ntheli
mitedareasonly.Theyhav e
tomai ntaint hemselv es,ther
eisnoadmi ni
strativestaff.Suchcondi ti
onsar etotall
y
favourablet osuchpr isonertor
ehabi l
i
t at
eint hesoci etyandt oprovet hemselvesas
goodl aw- abiderciti
zens.
OpenPr
isoni
nUSAandUK

Openjai
lwasini
ti
all
yexperi
mentedin1933inEngl
and.Suchki
ndsofpr
ison
pr
ovi
desopport
uni
tyt
oprisoner
stotakebr
eat
hint
otheopenai
r.

Theopenpr isoni nUSAar emeantont heonehandt oref

ormt hecriminal sand
theothertoav oi
dov ercrowdingt heprison.Theopenpr isonfuncti
onsinUKal sowher e
the pri
sonersl i
vei nt henat uralwayand wor kl i
ke ot herssubjecttot he r uleof
supervisi
on.The pr i
soner s can at t
end theirsick fr
iends and r el
ati
ves.Al exander
Paterson,theChair
manoft heBr iti
shPr i
sonerCommi ssioniswell-
knowni nEngl andfor
establi
shmentofopenpr i
sonsy stem from 1947.Suchpr isonsexistinothercount ri
es
ofEurope,,Scandi
nav i
aandMi ddleEast .

Theexper
iencehasshownthatt
hepri
soner
sr espondmoref
avorabl
ytowards
r
efor
mat i
onwhent hehumantr
eat
mentisgi
ventothem,openjai
lsy
stem isastepin
t
hisdi
recti
on.

OpenPr
isoni
nIndi
a

Theopenprisonfunct
ioninthev ar
iousStatesofUPt ookal
eadbyest abl
i
shing
anopenai rcampin1949adj acenttothemodelj ai
lLucknow.Onbehal
foftheUN,t he
AmericanCriminol
ogistWalt
erReclessv i
sit
edIndiain1952andsubmitt
edar eporton
the Indian pr
isons. Consequentl
y,t he Jai
l Commi t
tee was appoint
ed, which
recommendedf orestabl
i
shmentofopenj ail
s.

TheJai lRefor
m Commi t
teeexpressedinadequacyofthenumberoft heopen
prisons i nt he countr
y which was 27 in 1980.The Commi t
tee expr
essed i
ts
dissatisf
actionofSect i
on433Aoft heCodewhi chmakest heprovisi
onofmi ni
mum
term of14y ear
si mpri
sonmentasmandat oryforlif
econv i
cts.TheCommi tteewas
appr ehensiv
eofcl osingdownofopencampsi nv i
ew ofthi
ssect i
oninser
tedinthe
Codei nt heyear1978.

ADVANTAGESOFOPENPRI
SONSYSTEM

I
nt heopenpr isonsystem thesel
ect
edof
fender
sareplacedunderopenair
camps,f
rom coloni
esorotheroutsi
deworkwit
har
easonabl
edegr
eeofsafet
y.Andt
he
obvi
ousadvantagesofsuchsystem ar
e;

1.Theyhel
pinr
educi
ngov
ercr
owdi
ngi
njai
ls.

2.Const
ruct
ioncosti
sfai
rl
yreduced.

3.Oper
ati
onalcosti
sfarl
essert
hant
hatoft
heencl
osed pr
isons.

4.Engagi
ng the i
nmatesofopen ai
rpr
isonsi
n pr
oduct
ivewor
kkeepst
hem
mental
lyandphysi
call
yfi
t.
 5.Openoppor
tuni
ti
esf
orsel
f-
dev
elopmentandr
esoci
ali
zat
ion.

6.Hel
pinconser
vat
ionofnat
uralr
esour
cesandwi
denst
hescopeofr
ehabi
li
tat
ive
pr
ocess.

St
atusofOpenPr
isonsi
nIndi
a

Inacountryjustli
keIndia,i
tisverydiff
icul
ttostatetheposi t
iononanyt opicof
St
atemat t
er.OnthefootstepsoftheSanganeropenj ai
linRaj asthan,Jai
laut horit
iesin
Guj
arathaveproposedt otheStateGovernmentt osancti
onbui l
dingofopenj ail
si nthe
St
atewher epri
sonerscanl i
vewi t
htheirfamil
ies.Jai
ladministrat
orsbelievet hatopen
j
ail
swi l
lbeanexcel l
entrehabil
it
ati
vemeasur efortheprisoner .Set-
upi nt heear l
y
si
xtes,Dr
i .SampurnanandSanganeropencampi samodelpr i
soninRaj asthanbased
ontherehabi
li
tat
iveapproachthatrel
iesonf amil
yandcommuni ty.

Capaci
tyandPopul
ati
onofI
nmat
esi
nOpenJai
l
sinI
ndi
a

Ason2012i
nIndi
ather
ear
e46OpenJai
l
s

Tot
alcapaci
tyofj
ail
sint
hecount
ry:
4,028(
1.2%)

RI
GHTSOFPRI
SONERS
I
NTRODUCTI
ON

“I
nourwor l
dpr i
sonsarest i
lllaborator
iesoft
ortur
e,war
ehousesi
nwhi chhuman
commodit
ies ar
e sadist
ical
lykeptand wher e spectr
ums ofi
nmates r
ange f
rom
dri
ft
woodjuveni
lestoher
oicdissenters”.
-Just
iceV.R.Kr
ishnaI
yer
I
tisv er
yunf or
tunatethataci v
il
izedcountryjustl
i
keI ndiahasnotcodifiedri
ght
s
ofthepr isoners.Howev er,itcannotbedeni ed thatt heHon’ bl
ejudiciar
yhasnot
for
gottenthem andr ecognizedal onglistofri
ghtsofprisonersandallauthori
tieshav
e
tofol
low thesedi r
ecti
onsi nt heabsenceofl egisl
ati
on.But ,pr
acti
cal
ly,inabsenceof
l
egisl
ationtheseright
sf i
ndpl aceonlyont hepapers.

Ther
ear
esomei
mpor
tantdi
ff
erencebet
weenpr
ecedentandl
egi
slat
ions.

Legisl
ati
velaw i
sclearandavail
abl
et oever
yone,butprecedentl
aw li
eswith
var
iouspubli
cati
onsatdi
ff
erentpl
acesandther
eisnoclari
tyandavail
abi
li
tyofi
tinone
uni
form book.

Theconceptofpr
isondi
sci
pli
nehasunder
goneadr
ast
icchangei
nthemoder
n
admi ni
strati
onofcr imi
naljusti
cesystem.Ther ecommendat ionsoftheJai lCommi tt
ee
of1919- 20pav edt hewayf ortheabolit
ionofinhumanpuni shmentf orindisci
pli
ne.All
India JailRef orm Commi ttee 1980-83 has also recommended v ar
ious right
s of
prisoner
sandpr i
sondi
scipli
ne.Itmustbenot edt hatmostoft hem ofthese“ benef
its”
arenowr ecognizedbyjudi
ciaryaspartofthebasicr i
ghtsoft
hepr i
soners.

Itisest
abli
shedthatconv ict
ionforacr i
medoesnotr educethepersonint
oanon
-person,sohei sent i
tl
edt oal lther i
ghts,whicharegener all
yavai
labl
etot henon-
prisoner.I
tcannotbedeni edthathei sentit
ledforanyabsoluteri
ght
,whichisavai
l
able
toanon- pri
sonerbutsubjectsosomel egalrest
ri
cti
ons

TheSupr emeCour tofUni tedStat

esaswel last heIndianSupremeCour theld
thatprisonerisahumanbei ng,anat uralper
sonandal soal egalperson.Beinga
pri
sonerhedoesnotceaset obeahumanbei ng,naturalper
sonorl egalperson.The
courtswhi chsendof f
endersi nt
opr i
son,haveanoner ousdut ytoensuret hatduri
ng
detenton,det
i enueshav efreedom from tor
tur
eandf oll
ow thewor dsofWi l
liam Bl
ack
that“Pri
sonsarebuiltwithstonesofLaw” .So,whenhumanr i
ghtsareharassedbehind
thebars,Consti
tuti
onaljust
icecomesf orwardtouphol
dt helaw.

RI
GHTSOFPRI
SONERS

1) Ri
ghtt
oav
ailFundament
alRi
ght
s

2) Ri
ghtt
oli
feandPer
sonalLi
ber
ty

a)Ri
ghtt
oli
vewi
thhumandi
gni
ty

-
32-

b)Ri
ghtt
oheal
thandmedi
calt
reat
ment

3) Ri
ghtt
oSpeedyTr
ial

4) Ri
ghtt
oFr
eeLegalAi
d

a)Fr
eel
egalai
dist
heSt
ate’
sdut
y&notChar
it
y

b)Tor
ecei
vecopyofj
udgmentatf
reeofcost

5) Pr
otect
ionagai
nsti
nst
rument
sofRest
rai
nt

a)Handcuf
fi
ngofunder
tri
alpr
isoner
sis

unconst
it
uti
onal

b)Noneedofhandcuf
fi
ng,
whi
leescor
ti
ngt
hev
olunt
arysur
render
edper
son

c)Under
tri
alPr
isoner
scannotbekepti
n“l
egi
rons”
.
6) Pr
otect
ionofcust
odi
alt
ort
ureandmal
tr
eat
menti
n

Pr
ison

7) Ri
ghtt
obai
ldur
ingt
hependencyofappeal

8) Ri
ghtt
ober
eleasedonduedat
e

a)Det
ent
ionunder
gonet
obe‘
set
-of
f’agai
nstf
inalsent
ence

b)Del
ayi
nrel
easef
rom j
ailamount
sto‘
i
ll
egaldet
ent
ion’

c)PowerofHi
ghCour
ttor
eleasepr
isoneraf
terpar
don

9) Ri
ghtt
oEducat
ion

a)Ri
ghtt
oHi
gherEducat
ion

b)Ri
ghtt
orecei
veBooksandMagazi
nesi
nsi
det
heJai
l

c)Ri
ghtt
oPubl
icat
ion

10) Ri
ghtt
oReasonabl
eWagesf
orWor
k

11) Speci
alRi
ght
stoWomenPr
isoner
s

a)Ri
ghtt
ofemal
eguar
dforf
emal
esecur
it
y

b)Ri
ghtt
oPr
egnantPr
isoner
s

c)Ri
ghtt
oMot
herPr
isoner
s

d)Ri
ghtt
oChi
ldofWomenPr
isoner
s

12) Ri
ghtt
oSecur
it
yofl
if
einsi
det
heJai
l

13) Ri
ghtt
oInt
eract
ionwi
thSoci
ety

a)Ri
ghtt
obeI
nter
viewed

b)Ri
ghtt
oSoci
ali
ze

c)Ri
ghtt
oConf
ident
ial
it
yofLet
ter

d)Ri
ghtt
oCommuni
cat
ion

14) Faci
li
ti
esi
nPr
ison

a)Ri
ghtt
ohav
eadequat
eAccommodat
ion

b)Ri
ghtt
oFoodandWat
er

c)Ot
herpr
isonf
aci
li
ti
es
15) Ri
ghtt
oco-
habi
tat
ionwi
thspouse

16) Ri
ghtt
oCompensat
ioni
ncaseofmi
scar
ri
ageofj
ust
ice

a)Ri
ghtt
ocompensat
ioni
ncaseofcust
odi
alv
iol
ence

b)Ri
ghtt
ocompensat
ioni
ncaseofcust
odi
aldeat
h

c)Ri
ghtt
oCompensat
ioni
ncaseof‘
i
ll
egaldet
ent
ion’

d)Ri
ghtt
ocompensat
ioni
ncaseofdeat
hofpr
isonerdur
ing wor
k

17) Ri
ghtt
oappl
yforMer
cyandConcessi
onalappl
icat
ion

a)Ri
ghtt
oRemi
ssi
on

b)Ri
ghtt
oleav
eandspeci
all
eav
e(Fur
lough&Par
ole)

18) Ri
ght
soft
heChi
ldr
enofmot
heri
nmat
es

CLASSI
FICATI
ONOFPRI
SONERS
I
NTRODUCTI
ON

“
Therecannotbeanydoubtt hataconvictisconvict ,amurder
eri
smurder
er.
Therecannotbeanydi f
fer
enceinthegravi
tyoft hei
roff ence.Apersonwhoisan
aff
luentandinf
luent
ialcommitt
ingamurderhast obetreat edint
hesamemanneras
apersonwhoi spoorcommi t
ti
ngthesameoffence”.
-Hon’
bleSupr
emeCour
t

The Prison Act,1894 i st he exi

sti
ng law governi
ng the managementand
administr
ationofpr i
sonsi nI ndi
a.ThisAct ,asitwasbasedondet err
entprinci
ples
concernedmor ewi t
hprisonmanagementt hanwiththetr
eatmentofpri
sonersandgav e
moreconsi derati
ont opr i
sonof f
encesandpuni shmentsthantotheireff
ect.TheAct
descri
best heclassi
fi
cation(segregat
ion)ofpri
sonersinpri
son.

A Commi t
tee (JailRef
orm Committ
ee)was consti
tuted i
n 1946 forthe
ref
ormati
onofthejai
ls.ThisCommitt
eegavesuggest
ionsi
ncludi
ngclassi
fi
cati
onof
pri
soner
s.Thecl
assi
fi
cationoft
heoff
ender
sshoul
dbescient
if
icas–

a)Chi
l
dof
fender
s

b)Adul
tof
fender
s

c)Womenof
fender
s
 d)Casual
off
ender
s

e)Habi
tual
off
ender
s

f
) Ment
all
ydi
seasedof
fender
s,and

g)Handi
cappedof
fender
s

Thepur
poseofcl
assi
fi
cat
ionofconv
ictpr
isoner
sshal
lbe:

a)t
oseparatefrom ot
hersthosepr i
soner
swho,byr easonoft
hei
rcr
imi
nal
r
ecor
dsorbadcharact
ers,
arel
ikel
ytoexer
ciseabadinf
luence;

b)t
odivi
dethepri
sonersi
ntocl
assesi
nor
dert
ofaci
l
itat
ethei
rtr
eat
mentwi
tha
v
iewt
othei
rsoci
alr
ehabi
li
tat
ion.

Sofaraspossi
blesepar
ateinsti
tut
ionsorseparatesect
ionsofani nstit
uti
on
shallbeusedforthetr
eat
mentoft hedi f
ferentcl
assesofpri
soners.Forclassi
fyi
ng
convict
sinagivenpri
son,isnecessar
yt ohav ethedetai
l
soft hei
rbackgroundsfor
diagnosi
s.

TheNelsonMandelahasexplainedinPart-
VII
IofhisAut obiography“LongWal
k
toFreedom”,talksabouttheRobbenIslandj
ailcl
assif
icat
ionofpr isoners.Hesai
dall
pri
sonersareclassif
iedbytheaut
hori
tiesasoneoff ourcategories:A,B,C,orD.Ais
thehighestcl
assifi
cati
onandconfer
st hemostprivi
l
eges.Di st helowestandconfer
s
theleast
.

Thecl
assi
fi
cat
iongener
all
yranpar
all
elt
othel
engt
hofone’
ssent
ence

St
atut
orypr
ovi
sionsf
orCl
assi
fi
cat
ionofPr
isoner
s

St
andar
dMi
nimum Rul
esf
ort
heTr
eat
mentofPr
isoner
s,1955:
Accordi
ngt oRule8ofStandar
dMi nimum Rulesf ort
heTreatmentofPri
soner
s,
1955whi chwasadopt edbyUN,t hedif
ferentcategoriesofpri
soner
sshallbekeptin
separateinsti
tuti
onstakingi
ntoaccountoft heirsex,age,cri
minalrecor
d,t
helegal
reasonsfortheirdet
enti
on&thenecessi
ti
esoft heirt
reatment
.

a)MenandWomenshal
lsofaraspossi
blebedet
ainedi
nseparatei
nsti
tut
ions,
the
whol
eoft
hepr
emisesal
l
ocatedtowomenshallbeent
ir
elysepar
ate;

b)Unt
ri
edpr
isoner
sshal
lbekeptsepar
atef
rom conv
ict
edpr
isoner
s;
 c)Per
sonsi
mpri
sonedfordebt&ot herci
vi
lpr
isonersshal
lbekeptsepar
atef
rom
per
sonsi
mpr
isonedbyreasonsofacrimi
nal
offence;

d)Youngpr
isoner
sshal
lbekeptsepar
atef
rom adul
ts.

The Prisons Act,1894 :Fif

th Chapterofthe Actdeals wi
th‘di
scipl
ine of
pri
soner
s’.Therefore,
itcanbesai
dthatpurposeoft
heclassi
fi
cat
ionofthepr
isonersis
tomaint
aindiscipli
ne.

Separ
ati
on ofPri
soner
s– The r
equi
sit
ionsoft
his Actwi
thr
espectt
othe
separ
ati
onofpri
soner
sare–

1)Inapr i
soncontai
ningfemal easwellasmalepri
soners,thefemal
esshallbe
i
mprisonedinseparat
ebui l
dings,i
nsuchmannerastopr eventt
hei
rseei
ng,or
conv
ersingorhol
dinganyintercour
sewi
th,
themalepr
isoners;

2)I
n apr i
sonwheremaleprisonersundert
heageof21ar econfi
ned,
menshallbe
provi
dedforsepar
ati
ngthem alt
ogetherf
rom t
heotherpri
soner
s&forsepar
ati
ng
thoseofthem whohavearri
vedattheageofpuber
tyfrom t
hosewhohavenot;

3)Unconvi
ctedcri
minalpr
isoner
sshal
lbekeptapar
tfr
om t
heconv
ict
edcr
imi
nal
pr
isoner
s;and

4)Ci
vi
lpr
isoner
sshal
lbekeptapar
tfr
om t
hecr
imi
nal
pri
soner
s.

SEPARATI
ONOFPRI
SONERS

Separ
ati
onofPr
isoner
smaybedescr
ibedundert
hef
oll
owi
ngheads:

a)Separ
ati
onont
hebasi
sofSex

Inaprisoncontai
ningfemal
easwel
lasmal
epr
isoner
s,t
hef
emal
esshal
lbe
i
mpr
isonedi
nseparat
ebuildi
ngs.

TheApexCour tgavedet
ailedi nst
ruct
ionsinthecaseofSheelaBharsev.Stat
e
ofMahar asht
ra,AIR1983SC378t ot heconcernedauthori
tyf
orprovi
dingsecur
it
yand
safet
yi npoli
celock-upandparticularlywomensuspect s.Femalesuspect
sshouldbe
keptinseparatelock-upandnoti nt hesamei nwhichmal eaccusedaredetai
nedand
shoul
dbeguar dedbyf emal
econst ables.

b)Separ
ati
onont
hebasi
sofAge

Now,
ever
yJuv
eni
l
e,bel
owt
heageof18y
ear
scannotbekepti
npol
i
cel
ock-
upor
i
npr
ison.

Juveni
l
esaregover
nedbytheJuveni
leJusti
ce(CareandPr otect
ionofChildr
en)
Act,2000.Thepri
sonersmaybeclassi
fi
edaccordi
ngt hei
ragelike18-21years,22-
30,
31-40,51-60year
sandabove60y earsoranydiff
erentclassi
fi
cati
onpr ov
idedbyt he
respecti
veJail
Manual.

c)Separ
ati
onont
hebasi
sofConv
ict
ion

Accor
ding to Sect
ion 27( 3)oft he Pr i
sons Act,1894,unconv i
cted crimi
nal
pri
sonersshallbekeptapartfr
om t heconvictedcri
minalpri
soners.Ast hewor d‘shal
l
’is
usedi nthecl
auset hem itismandat oryfort heStatetoclassi
fyt heprisonersintwo
categori
esundertri
alandconv i
ctedpr i
soners.Infact
,therearethreecategor i
esinthis
cl
ass–i )Undertr
ial
,ii
)Detenues(Pr ev
enti
veDet enti
on)andiii
)Conv ict
edprisoners.

d)Separ
ati
onofCi
vi
lPr
isoner
sfr
om Cr
imi
nalPr
isoner
s

Civi
lpri
sonersshal
l bekeptapartfrom cri
mi nalpr
isoners.Theaim andobj ectsof
the nature ofpuni shmenti s depending on t he actor.I n case ofci vilr emedy
i
mpr i
sonmenti sgivenonindividualr
ightbaseappr oach&i ncaseofcr i
mi nalprisoners,
thei
ratti
tudeistotall
ydif
ferent&needdi ffer
entkindofr eformationordeterrence.This
kindofclassi
fi
cati
oni smandat oryi
nev er
ycorrectionali
nstit
uti
on.

e)Separ
ati
onoft
hepr
isoner
sunderSent
enceofDeat
h

Accor
dingtoSect i
on30oft hePr i
sonsAct ,1894,ever
ypr i
sonerundersentence
ofdeathshall
,onhi sarri
vali
ntheprisonaftersentence,besearchedby,orbyorderof,
thejail
orandallarti
clesshal
lbetakenf r
om him,whi chthejai
lordeemedi tdangerous
orinexpedi
enttoleaveinhispossession.

Ev
erysuchprisonershal
lbeconfinedinacellapar
tfrom ot
herpri
soners,and
shal
lbepl acedbydayandbyni ghtunderthechargeofguard.Unli
ketheUSAand
England,
inIndi
atheclassi
fi
cati
onworkisnotper
for
medbyt hecommi t
teeofexpert
sin
pri
son.

Theexpressi
on“pri
sonerundersentenceofdeat
h”i
nthecontextofSecti
on30(
2)
ofthePri
sonersAct,1894,canonlymeanst hepri
sonerwhosesentenceofdeathhas
becomef i
nal
,concl
usiveandi ndef
easi
blewhichcannotbeannull
edorv oidedbyany
j
udici
alorconst
it
uti
onalprocedure.

Therefor
e,thepri
sonercanbesai dtobeunderthesent
enceofdeath,onlywhen,
thedeathsent encei sbeyondj udi
cialscr
uti
nyandwoul dbeoper ati
vewi t
houtany
i
nterventi
onofanyaut hori
ty.Til
lthent hepersonwhoawar dedcapitalpunishment
cannotbe sai dt o be pr
isonerundersent ence ofdeath.(SunilBatrav .Delhi
Administr
ation,AI
R1978SC1675)

f
)Speci
alcl
assofPr
isoner
s
Separ
atecl
assbywayofsecur
it
ymeasur
es
The peti
ti
oners have been tr
ained as a separ
ate class bywayofsecur i
ty
measur estaki
ngintoaccounttheiracti
v i
ti
esi
nthej ai
lli
keindoctr
inat
ingtheotherco-
pr
isoner sbypreachi
ngt hepolicyofv iol
enceandanni hi
lat
ionofmoney ed-cl
assand
pl
anningescapef r
om thejai
l.

Theref
ore,i
tisclearthatanyclassi
ficat
ionbasedontheprot
ecti
onandsecur
it
y
oftheprisonerareval
idintheey esoflaw.But,itshoul
dbedevi
atedfr
om j
ust,
fai
rand
reasonablecl
assif
icat
iontoindiv
idual
pr i
vi
legeclassi
fi
cati
on.

I
NTRODUCTI
ONTOVI
CTI
MOLOGY
I
NTRODUCTI
ON

Ineverycivi
l
izedsociety,
acriminalcommitsthecr
imeandt heStat
eapprehends
theoffenderand bringshi m totrial
.If,hefound gui
lt
yt henhei sconvi
cted and
sent
encedt oundergoanyf orm ofpunishment
.Atthisj
uncture,somequesti
onar i
sein
mind.Doesthiscompl et
ethewheel ofcrimi
nalj
usti
ce?Whataboutt hecri
mevicti
ms?

Iti
sallverywel
lthattheaccusedisgi
venaf airandjusttr
ial,thatt
heguilt
yare
puni
shed,thattheconv i
ctsand pri
sonersaregivenahumanet reatment,t
hatjai
l
condi
ti
onsarei mpr
ovedandt heerstwhi
lecr
iminal
sar erehabil
it
ated,but,whatabout
thecr
imevicti
m?Inresponsetothi
s,theHon’
bleSupremeCour thasobser ved:

“I
nouref for
tstolookafterandprot
ectthehumanright
softheconvi
ct,we
cannotfor
gett he v
ict
im orhisfamil
yin case ofhi
sdeath orwho i
sotherwi
se
i
ncapaci
tat
edt oearnhisliv
eli
hoodbecauseofthecri
minalactoft
heconvi
ct.The
vi
cti
miscertai
nly….

….entitl
edt or eparation,resti
tut
ionandsaf eguardofhi srights.Cr i
mi nalj
usticewould
l
ookhol lowifj ust
icei snotdonet othev i
cti
m oft hecrime.Thesubj ectofvict
imologyis
gaini
nggr oundwhi lewear ealsoconcernedwi tht heri
ghtsoft hepr i
soner
sandpr i
son
refor
ms.Av ictim ofcr i
mecannotbea‘ f
orgottenman’ i
nthecr iminaljusti
cesy st
em.I t
i
shewhohassuf feredt hemost .Hisfamilyisruinedpar t
icularlyincaseofdeat hand
otherbodilyinjury.Thisisapar tfr
om thefactorslikelossofr eputation,humil
iati
on,etc.
Anhonorwhi chisl ostorl ifewhichissnuf fedoutcannotber ecompensedbutt hen
monet ar
ycompensat ionwi llatl
eastprovi
desomesol .(
ace” St ateofGuj ar
atv .Hon’bl
e
HighCour tofGuj arat,[1990]7SCC392.

Meani
ngofVi
cti
mol
ogy

Whenbr eakingup thewor dvictimol ogy,therei s‘vi

cti
m’and‘ ol
ogy’
.Vi cti
m
meansal lthosewhoexper i
enceinj
ury
,l oss,orhar dshipduet oanycause,andont he
otherhand‘ ol
ogy ’i
sjustasuffi
xmeaningt hestudyof .So,themeani ngofv i
cti
mol ogy
maybedescr i
bedas“ i
tist
hestudyofpeopl ewhoexper ienceofinjury,
orhardshipdue
toanycause. ”Themostaccept eddefinit
ionofv i
cti
mol ogyis,“
Thesci ent
if
icstudyof
cri
mev i
cti
ms,whi chfocusesont hephy sical
,emot i
onal,andf inanci
alharm peopl e
sufferatt
hehandsofcr imi
nals.
”

Andrew Karmen hasdef i

ned v
icti
mol ogyi n br
oad sense.Accordi
ng t
o him
“
Victi
mologyisthescienti
fi
cst udyofvict
imizati
on,incl
udingtherel
ati
onshi
pbet ween
vi
cti
msandof fender
s,theinter
acti
onsbetweenv icti
msandt hecrimi
nalj
usti
cesystem,
t
hatis,t
hepol i
ceandcour t
s,andcorrecti
onsof fi
cial
s,andtheconnecti
onsbet ween
vi
cti
msand ot hersocietalgroupsand i nst
itut
ions,such ast hemedia and social
movements.

Accordi
ngtoJusticeJNBhat
t,HighCourtofGujar
at,
“Vi
cti
mologyisascienceof
suf
fer
ingsandresul
tantcompensat
ion.Thedoctr
ineofvi
cti
mologyhasvari
ousaspects.
Victi
mologymeansthesci
enceofr el
ati
onshi
pbet
weenthev i
cti
msoft hecri
meand
creator
softhecri
me.Thevi
cti
msoft hecri
meshal
lbeent
it
ledtocompensat
ionift
hey
havenotcontr
ibut
edi
ntheemergenceofcri
me.”

Thedef
ini
ti
onoft
hev
ict
imol
ogymaybeconcl
udedi
nthef
oll
owi
ngel
ement
s:

a)I
tisasci
ent
if
icst
udyofsuf
fer
ingduet
ocr
ime

b)I
tst
udi
esoft
her
elat
ionshi
pbet
weensuf
fer
er&aut
horofcr
ime.

c)Thev
ict
im oft
hecr
imeshal
lbeent
it
ledf
ort
hecompensat
ionort
akencar
eof
.

d)I
tfor
mul
atest
hemet
hodst
odet
ermi
necompensat
ionf
ort
hecr
imev
ict
im.

e)I
tal
sopr
ovi
desr
emedi
est
othev
ict
imi
fcompensat
ioni
snotpai
d.

Hi
stor
yofVi
cti
mol
ogy

The t
erm v icti
mologywascoi ned i
nt he mid 1990s.Cr i
me wasofcour se,
occurr
ingpriortothisti
me, t
hus,peoplewerebeingvi
cti
mi zedlongbefor
ethesci
entifi
c
studyofcrimev i
cti
m began.Event houghtheywerenotsci enti
fi
cal
lyst
udi
ed.,v
icti
ms
wererecognizedasbei ngharmedbycr ime,andthei
rrol
eint hecrimi
nalj
ust
iceprocess
hasevolvedov erti
me.

Befor
eandt hroughouttheMi ddleAges( fom 5th t
r o16th century),t
hebur denof
thejust i
cesystem,inf
ormalasi fwas,fellonthevicti
m.Whenaper sonorpr opertywas
harmed,i twasupt othev i
ctimsandt hevict
imsf ami l
yt oseekj usti
ce.Thiswas
typi
callyachievedviaretal
i
ati
on.Thej usticesyst
em oper atedundert hepr i
nci
pleofl ex
tali
onis,aney eforaneye.Acriminalwoul dbepuni shedbecauseheorshedeser v edit
,
andt hepunishmentwoul dbeequal t
ot heharm caused.

Punishmentbasedont hesenot i
onsi sconsistentwithretr
ibuti
on.Dur
ingthis
per
iod,acrimewasconsi der
edahar m againstt
hev icti
m,notthest at
e.Theconcepts
ofret
ri
buti
onandr est
it
uti
ongov ernedactionagainstcriminal
s.Cri
minalswasexpected
topaybackthevict
imthroughrestit
uti
on.

Dur
ingthi
speri
od,acri
minalwhoi
sresponsi
blef
orcommi
tt
inganof
fencehe
shoul
dcompensatet
othevi
cti
m.

Earlycri
minalcodei ncorporatedthesepr i
ncipl
es.TheCodeofHammur abiwas
thebasi sfororderandcert ai
nlyinBaby l
on.Inthecode,r estorati
onofequitybetween
theoffenderandv icti
m wasst r
essed.Noticethattheearlyresponsetocrimecent ered
ont hev i
cti
m andnotont heSt at
e.Thi sfocuswascont inueduntilt
heI ndustrial
Revoluti
on, whencriminall
awshi f
tedtoconsideringcri
mesv i
olati
onsagainstt
heSt ate
rat
hert hant hevi
ctim.Oncet hevict
im ceasedt obeseenast heenti
tyharmedbyt he
cri
me,t hev ict
im becamesecondar y.Alt
hought hisshiftmostcer tai
nlybenefi
tedt he
Stat
ebyallowi
ngitt
ocollectfi
nesandmoni esfrom t
hesenewl
ydefi
nedharms,the
vi
cti
m di
dnotfareaswel
l,inst
eadofbei
ngt hefocus,t
hecri
mevict
im wasef
fect
ivel
y
excl
udedfr
om t
hefor
malaspectsofthej
ust
icesystem.

Since t
hen,t his st
ate-center
ed syst em has l
argelyr emained in place,but
att
enti
onwasgi ventot hecri
mev i
cti
msdur ing1940s.Beginni
ngi nthisper
iod, concern
wasshownf orthecrimev ict
im, butthi
sconcer nwasnotent i
relysympatheti
c.I nstead,
i
tbecame pr eoccupied with how t he cr
ime v i
cti
m contri
butes to his orherown
vi
cti
mizati
on.Thewor ksduri
ngt hisperi
odf ocusednotont heneedsofcr imev i
ctims
butonident
if
yingtowhatext entv i
cti
mscoul dbeheldresponsibleforbei
ngv ict
imi zed.

Thescientifi
cst udyofv icti
mol ogycanbet racedbackt othe1940sand1950s.
Two cr i
minologists,Mendel sohn and Ven Hent i
g,began t o explor
et he f
iel
d of
victi
mol ogybycr eati
ng‘ t
ypologies’.Theyar econsideredthe“father
soft hestudyof
victi
mol ogy”. These new ‘ v i
ctimologist
s’began t o study the behav i
ours and
vulnerabil
it
iesofv i
cti
ms,suchast her esi
stanceofrapev i
cti
msandchar act
eri
sti
csof
thetypesofpeopl ewhower ev i
ctimsofcr i
me, especial
l
ymur dervi
ctims.

Benjami
nMendelsohn(1937)i
nter
viewedv
ict
imstoobtaini
nformati
on,&his
anal
ysi
sl edhi
mtobel
ievethatmostvict
imshadan“unconsci
ousapti
tudeforbei
ng
vi
cti
mized”.

VonHent ig(1948)st
udiedvict
imsofhomi
cide,andsaidthatt
hemostl i
kel
ytype
ofvict
imi sthe“depressi
vetype”whoisaneasyt
arget,carel
essandunsuspecti
ng.The
‘
greedyty pe’iseasi
lydupedbecausehisorhermot i
vati
onforeasygainlowershisor
hernaturaltendencytobesuspici
ous.

Wolfgang’
s( 1958)foll
owedt hi
sl eadandl atertheori
zedt hat“manyv i
cti
m-
precipit
atedhomi cideswere,inf act
, causedbytheunconsciousdesi r
eoft hevi
cti
mst o
commi tsuici
de.”Schaf er
’stheor et
icalwor k(1968)alsorepresentedhow v i
cti
mology
i
nv estedasubst antialamountofi tsener gytot hestudyofhow v i
cti
mscont ri
bute,
knowi nglyorunknowi ngl
y,tot heirownv ict
iminzat
ion,andpot enti
alway stheymay
sharer esponsibi
li
tywi t
hoffender sf
orspeci fi
ccrimes.

Adapt
ati
onofVi
cti
mol
ogyi
nIndi
anCr
imi
nalJust
iceSy
stem

I
n1980s,Just ceVRKr
i i
shnaI yerhasobservedthatv i
cti
mol ogy
,abur geoni
ng
branchofhumanecr i
minaljusti
ce,mustf i
ndfulf
il
lment,notthroughbar bar
it
ybutby
compul sor
yrecoupmentbythewr ong-doerofthedamagei nfli
cted,notbygivi
ngmor e
paintot heof
fenderbutbylesseningt helossofthef or
lor
n.TheSt atei
tsel
fmayhav e
i
tsst r
ategyofall
eviat
inghardshipsofv i
cti
msaspar tofAr t
icl
e41.Sot hemandat or
y
minimum inSecti
on433Acannotbel inkedupwi t
hthedistr
essoft hedependents.

I
tistr
uethati
nrecentyear
sanopi ni
onhasbeenstr
ongl
yexpr
essedinf
av ourof
r
efor
mationbei
ngthedominantobjectofpuni
shmentbutt
henanopposi
teopi
nionhas
notbeenl
acki
ngt
oexpr
essi
on.

nMar
I uRam v.Uni
onofIndia,AI
R1980SC2147,Just
iceFazalAl
ihasobser
ved
thatwhileconsi
deri
ngtheprobl
em ofpenologyweshouldnotoverl
ookthepli
ghtof
vict
imologyandthesuf
fer
ingsofthepeopl
ewhodie,
suf
feroraremaimedatthehands
ofcrimi
nals.

The Guj aratHigh Cour

thas observ ed t
hati nt he fi
eld ofcriminol
ogyand
penol
ogy, apartf
rom t
hefactsandcircumstances,vi
cti
mol ogyhasalsoitsimportance.
Unfor
tunately,vi
cti
mologyhasr emainedneglect nAbhubhaiFat
ed.I abhaiv.Stateof
Gujar
at,(1993)3GLR2665,i nthiscase,deceaseday oungman,di edl eavi
ngbeing
widowand4sonsatt heti
meofi nci
dent.

Thelifeoft hebr eadwi nneroft hef amilywascutshor tbytheaccusedby

exceedingtherightofpr ivatedefence.Insuchci r
cumst
ances,theGuj
aratHighCourt
opinedthatiti
saf i
tcasef orconsiderat
ionofgrantofamountofcompensationtothe
heirsandlegalr epresentati
vesoft hedeceased,outoft heamountoff i
ne.Thereis
purposeandpol icybehi ndenact i
ngt heprovisi
onofSect i
on357i nt
heCode,whi ch
promotestheconceptofv ict
imologyintherealm ofcr
imi
nology
.

Aper sonwhohasdeprivedanot
herper
soncompl
etelyofhi
sli
bert
yforeverand
hasendanger edthel
iber
tyofhisfamil
yhasnor i
ghtt
oaskt hecourttoupholdhis
l
iber
ty.Li
ber t
yi snotaone-si
dedconceptnordoesAr t
icle21oft heConsti
tuti
on
cont
emplatessuchaconcept.

I
fapersoncommi t
sacr i
minalof
fenceandpunishmenthasbeengiventohim by
aprocedureestabl
i
shedbyl awwhi chisfreeandfai
randwher etheaccusedhasbeen
ful
l
y heard,no questi
on ofv iol
ati
on ofAr t
icl
e 21 ari
ses when the quest
ion of
punishmenti
sbeingconsidered.

Rel
ati
onshi
pbet
weenPenol
ogyandVi
cti
mol
ogy

Vi
cti
mologyi st hepar tofpenology.Whilet
hecour tsent encingtheof f
enders
underpenology,itshoul dnotnegl ectthev i
cti
msfrom t heact .I
nf act
,therearetwo
ki
ndsofv ict
ims.Firstl
y ,thosehav ebeeni nj
uredbyof fenderofhi sact ,i
.e.
,widowed,
chi
ldrenanddependent soft hedeceasedorsomet imest hei nj
uredpersonhi mself
.
Secondly
,those,sufferwhent heoffenderwil
lgoundersent ence,i.
e.,hi
swi f
e,chi
ldr
en,
orotherdependants.Buti sunf ort
unatethatwehadf orgottent hesecondone.Butf i
rst
oneiscompensat edbyt hev icti
mology.

Recommendat
ionsoft
heMal
imat
hCommi
tt
ee

TheMali
mthCommitt
eehav i
ngfel
tthatthesystem mustfocusonjusticeto
vi
cti
ms,maderecommendat
ions,whichi
ncludetheri
ghtofv ict
imtopart
icipatein
casesi
nvol
vi
ngseri
ouscr
imesandt oadequatecompensat
ion.TheCommitteei ni
ts
reportshasobservedt hat,theCr i
minalJusti
ceSy stem needstobeaddr essedonan
urgentbasis.Thev i
ctimsofr apeanddomest i
cv iolencerequi
retraumacounseling,
psychiat
ri
candr ehabil
itati
veser vi
cesapartfrom LegalAir.Iti
sf ur
therobserv
edt hat
vict
imsof tenfal
lpreyt oi nt
imidati
onandhar assmentbyof f
enderswhicht endt o
dissuadethem f
rom testif
yingfreel
yandt r
uthf
ull
y.

I
nadequat
eLawi
nfav
ourofVi
cti
ms

Schemef
or“
Vict
im Wel
far
eFund”

TheHon’
bleGuj
aratHi gh Cour
tsuggested that
,itishi gh t
imeto cr
eatea
consoli
dati
ngt
heVict
im WelfareFundonast at ut
orybasis,suchfundscanwellbe
administ
rat
edbyacounciloraboar dnamed“ Vict
im Welf
ar eBoardorCri
meVi ct
im
Servi
ceCounci
l”
.
Thepay mentofcompensat i
onmaybel efttothediscret
ionofsuchst atutory
authori
ty.Therei
shighti
mef oranIndianlegi
slat
ionforprovi
dingvicti
m assi
stanceand
compensat i
onandguidel
inesforaschemeandasr est
it
uti
onforwor ki
nginanef fectiv
e
statut
oryf r
ameworkforv i
cti
mological,r
ehabi
lit
ativeproj
ecttoourcount ry.[Stateof
Gujaratv.Raghu,
2003Cr.LR( Guj
)393].
Needf
orCompensat
ionLegi
slat
ion:

Compensat
iont
oVi
cti
msofCr
ime

I
ntr
oduct
ion

“
Compensat
ionisawar
dedtowar
dssuf fer
anceofanylossorinj
urybyreasonofanact
f
orwhichanaccusedper
sonissentenced.Al
thoughitpr
ovidesforacriminall
iabi
li
ty,
t
heamountwhichhasbeenawardedascompensat i
onisconsideredt
ober ecourseof
t
hevi
ctimi
nthesamemannerwhichmaybegr ant
edinacivi
lsuit
.”
-Hon’
ble Supr
eme Cour
tin Di
li
p S.Dahanukarv.Kot
ak
Mahi
ndr
aCo.Lt
d.,
(2007)6SCC528.
InI ndiancr i
minalj
usti
cesy st
em general
l
yt hevi
cti
mi sal
waysf orgott
en,forwho
thecr i
mi nalj ust
icesystem isal
labout .Whatist heef
fectofconvicti
ngt heaccused
upont hev i
ctim hastobet akenintoconsi
derati
on.Inmanycases,itmaynothav eany
effectont hef ut
ureli
feofthev i
ctim andthevi
ctimswillbelef
twit
houtanyr emedyto
theinjuryorl osscausedt othem.Thenwhati st obedone?Thei mpor tantquesti
ons
thatarisesar e:

i
)Whet
hert
hesoci
etyshoul
dtakecar
eofsuchv
ict
ims,
and

i
i)Whet
hert
heaccusedcanbeaskedordi
rect
edt
ocompensat
ethev
ict
im?
St
atut
oryPr
ovi
sionsf
orCompensat
iont
oVi
cti
m ofCr
ime

I
nf act
,theCodehasnotemphasi soncompensat i
ontot hevict
im ofcri
me.The
reason i
s ourcr iminaljusti
ce sy st
em i s based upon the punit
ive appr
oach with
refor
mativetheory.Sti
ll
,victi
mf indsplaceinf ew sect
ionsoft heCode.Sect i
ons357
and358pr ovi
dingsomepr ovi
sionsrelat
ingt ocompensationtot hevicti
m ofacr i
me
andSection357Ai nsert
edbyt heAmendmentof2008,whi chsay sthatschemef orthe
compensat i
onshouldbef ramedbyt heState.TheSect i
on357oft heCoder eadsas
foll
ows–

Sect
ion357–Or
dert
oPayCompensat
ion–

1)Whenacourti
mposesasentenceoffi
neorasentence(i
ncl
udi
ngasentence
ofdeath)ofwhi
chfi
nefor
msapar t,t
hecourtmay,whenpassi
ngjudgmentor
derthe
wholeoranypar
toft
hefi
nerecov
eredtobeappl
ied-
a)I
ndef
ray
ingt
heexpensespr
oper
lyi
ncur
redi
nthepr
osecut
ion;
b)Inthepaymenttoanypersonofcompensat
ionforanylossori
njurycausedby
theoff
ence,whencompensati
onis,i
ntheopini
on,ofthecourt
,recover
ableby
suchpersoni
nacivi
lcour
t;
c)When,anyper sonisconvi
ctedofanyoffenceforhavingcausedthedeathof
anotherpersonorofhavi
ngabettedthecommi ssionofanof f
ence,i
npay i
ng,
compensationtothepersonswhoar e,undertheFat alAcci
dentsAct,1855
enti
tl
edt or
ecoverdamagesf r
om t
hepersonsentencedfort
helossresul
ti
ngto
them fr
om suchdeat
h;
d)Whenanyper soni sconvict
edofanyof f
encewhi chincl
udest heft
,cri
minal
misappropri
ation,cri
minalbreachoft r
ustorcheat i
ng,orofhav i
ngdishonestl
y
recei
vedorr etai
ned,orofhav ingv ol
untari
lyassistedi ndisposingofstolen
proper
ty knowi ng orhav i
ng r eason to believ
et he same t o be stol
en in
compensat i
nganybonaf i
depur chaserofsuchpr oper t
yfort
hel ossofthesame
i
fsuchpr opertyisrest
oredtothepossessi onoftheper sonentit
ledther
eto.
I
ndef
ray
ingt
heexpensespr
oper
lyi
ncur
redi
nthepr
osecut
ion;
Inthepaymenttoanypersonofcompensat
ionforanylossori
njurycausedby
theoff
ence,whencompensati
onis,i
ntheopini
on,ofthecourt
,recover
ableby
suchpersoni
nacivi
lcour
t;
When,anyper sonisconvi
ctedofanyoffenceforhavingcausedthedeathof
anotherpersonorofhavi
ngabettedthecommi ssionofanof f
ence,i
npay i
ng,
compensationtothepersonswhoar e,undertheFat alAcci
dentsAct,1855
enti
tl
edt or
ecoverdamagesf r
om t
hepersonsentencedfort
helossresul
ti
ngto
them fr
om suchdeat
h;
Whenanypersonisconvi
ctedofanyoffencewhichincl
udesthef
t,cri
minal
mi
sappr
opr
iat
ion,cr
imi
nalbr
eachoftr
ustorcheat
ing,orofhavi
ngdishonest
ly
 recei
vedorr etai
ned,orofhav ingv ol
unt
ari
lyassistedi ndi
sposi
ngofst ol
en
proper
ty knowing orhav i
ng reason to bel
iev
et he same to be stol
en i
n
compensatinganybonaf i
depurchaserofsuchpropertyfort
helossofthesame
i
fsuchpropertyisrest
oredtot
hepossessionoftheper sonenti
tl
edther
eto.
2)Ifthefineisimposedi nacase,whi chissubjecttoappeal
,nosuch
paymentshallbemadebef oretheperi
odallowedforpresenti
ngtheappealhas
el
apsed,ori
fan,appealbepresent
ed,befor
et hedeci
sionoftheappeal
.
3)Whenacour timposesasent ence,ofwhichfi
nedoesnotf orm apart
,
thecour
tmay ,whenpassi ngjudgmentordertheaccusedpersontopay,byway
ofcompensationsuchamountasmaybespeci f
iedinordertothepersonwho
hassuff
eredanyl ossorinj
urybyreasonoftheactforwhichtheaccusedperson
hasbeensosent enced.
4)Anor
derunderthi
sSecti
onmayalsobemadebyaAppell
ateCourtor
byt
heHi
ghCourtorCour
tofSessi
onwhenexer
cisi
ngi
tspower
sofr
evi
sion.
5)Att het
imeofawar di
ngcompensationinanysubsequentci
vi
lsui
t
r
elat
ingtothesamemat ter
,theCourtshal
ltakeint
oaccountanysum pai
dor
r
ecoveredascompensat
ionunderthi
sSecti
on.
Infact,sub-
secti
on(1)ofSection357deal switht heimposi t
ionoffi
neand
paymentofcompensat ionfrom theamountoff i
ne,i.
e.,thewhol eoranypar tof
thefine,andsub- sect
ion(3)dealswi t
ht hesi t
uati
onwher ef i
nedoesnotf or
m
partofthesent enceimposedbyaCour t.Insuchacase, theCour tcanorderthe
accusedt opaycompensat i
ont otheper sonwhohassuf feredl ossorinjuryby
reasonoft heactf orwhichtheaccusedper sonhasbeensent enced.Thebasi c
diff
erence between sub-secti
on (1)and ( 3)i sthati nt he f ormercase t he
i
mposi ti
onoff ineistheessent i
alrequirement,whil
ei nt helat ereveni nthe
absenceofi mpositi
onoff inetheCour tisempower edt odi rectpay mentof
compensat ion.

Sect
ion357A–Vi
cti
m compensat
ionscheme

1)Ever
ySt ateGovernmentinco- or
dinat
ionwiththeCentr
alGover
nmentshall
prepar
easchemef orpr
ovidingfundsforthepurposeofcompensati
ont
ot hev
ict
im or
hisdependentswhohav esuf feredlossori nj
uryasar esul
tofthecri
meandwho,
requi
rerehabi
l
itat
ion.

2)Whenev erar ecommendati

onismadebyt heCourtforcompensat
ion,the
Dist
ri
ctLegalServ
iceAuthor
it
yortheStat
eLegalSer
viceAut
hori
ty,ast
hecasemaybe,
shal
ldeci
det hequant
um ofcompensati
ontobeawardedundertheschemeref
erredto
i
nsub-secti
on(1).

3)Ifthe t
ri
alCourt
,att he concl
usi
on ofthe tri
al,i
s sat
isf
ied,thatt he
compensat
ionawar
dedundersecti
on357i snotadequat
ef orsuchr
ehabil
it
ation,or
wher
ethecasesendinacqui
ttalordi
schar
geandt
hev
ict
im hast
ober
ehabi
l
itat
ed,i
t
maymakerecommendat
ionforcompensati
on.

4)Wher etheoffenderisnottr
acedorident
if
ied,butt
hevict
imisident
ifi
ed,and
wher
enot ri
altakesplace,t
hev i
cti
m orhi
sdependentsmaymakeanappl icat
iontothe
St
ateortheDistr
ictLegalServ
icesAuthor
it
yforawardofcompensati
on.

5)Onrecei
ptofsuchrecommendationsorontheappli
cati
onundersub-
sect
ion
(4)
,theStat
eort heDist
ri
ctLegalSer
vicesAuthori
tyshal
l,aft
erdueenquiryaward
adequat
ecompensati
onbycomplet
ingt
heenquirywit
hintwomont hs.

6)TheSt at
eort heDi stri
ctLegalSer v
icesAut horit
y,ast hecasemaybe,t o
al
levi
atethesuffer
ingoft hev i
ctim,mayor derforimmedi atefi
rst
-aidfacil
it
yormedical
benefi
tst obemadeav ailabl
ef reeofcostont hecer t
if
icateofthepol iceoff
icernot
belowt herankoftheofficerinchargeofthepol i
cestati
onoraMagi strateoft
hear ea
concerned,oranyotheri
nt eri
mr eli
efastheappr opri
ateauthori
tydeemsf i
t.

Sect
ion358-Compensat
iont
oper
sonsgr
oundl
essl
yar
rest
ed.

1)Whenev eranypersoncausesapol i
ceoff
icertoar
restanotherper
son,ifit
appearst otheMagi st
ratebywhom t hecaseisheardthattherewasnosuf fi
cient
groundf orcausingsuchar r
est,theMagi
str
atemayawar dsuchcompensat i
on,not
exceedingonehundr edrupees,tobepai
dbyt hepersonsocausingthearr
esttot he
personsoar rest
ed,f
orhislossoft i
meandexpensesinthematter,astheMagi
strate
thi
nksf i
t.

2)Insuchcases,i
fmorepersonst
hanonearearrest
ed,theMagist
rat
emay,i
n
l
i
kemanner ,awar
dt oeachofthem suchcompensat
ion,notexceedi
ngonehundr
ed
r
upees,assuchMagist
rat
ethi
nksfi
t.

3)Allcompensat
ionawardedunderthi
ssecti
onmayber ecov
eredasi
fitwerea
fi
ne,and,ifitcannotbesor ecovered,t
hepersonbywhom i tispayabl
eshallbe
sent
encedt osimpleimpri
sonmentf orsuchterm notexceedingthi
rt
ydaysast he
Magist
rat
edirect
s,unl
esssuchsum issoonerpai
d.

Fact
orst
obeconsi
der
edwhi
lemaki
ngOr
derf
orCompensat
ion

CompensationmustbeReasonabl e:Theor derunderSecti

on357f orpaymentof
compensati
onmustber easonabl
e.Whatisreasonabl
emustdependuponthefacts&
cir
cumstancesofeachcase.Thequant um ofcompensati
onmaybedet erminedby
taki
ngint
oaccountthenatureofofcr
ime,t
hej ust
nessoft
heclai
m byt
hev i
cti
m &the
abil
it
yoftheaccusedt
opay .

Par
tlycompensati
oninli
euofPuni
shment:TheHon’bl
eAndhr
aPradeshHi
ghCourt
gav
easensationalj
udgmenti
n1996cov
eri
ngtheexpi
ati
ont
heor
y nMohd.Gi
.I asuddi
n
v.StateofAP,AIR1977SC1926,Sayyaduddin&hisbrotherrai
dedMasl
ehuddinduet o
personalgrudges& asar esul
tM waski ll
ed.TheHi ghCour ti
mposedthreey ears
i
mpr isonmentandawardedRs.60,
000ascompensat i
onpay abl
ebytheaccusedtot he
familymember sofM.

Accused capacit
yt o payCompensat ion should be considered :Whi l
e awarding
compensati
on the courthas t o deci
de whethert he case isaf i
tone i n which
compensati
on,hast obeawar ded.I
fiti
sfoundt hatcompensat i
onshoul dbepai dthen
thecapaci
tyoftheaccusedt opaycompensationhast obedet ermined.Itisthedutyof
thecourtt
ot akeintoaccount,t
henatureofthecr i
me,theinjurysuffer
ed,t hej
ustness
oftheclai
mf orcompensat i
on&ot herrel
evantcircumstancesinf i
xingt heamountof
compensaton.Sar
i wanSinghv.Stat
eofPunjab,AIR1978SC1525.
Awar
dedCompensat
iont
othei
njur
edper
sonsi
stomeetendsofj
ust
ice:

TheGuj ar
atHighCour tawardedcompensati
ontotheinj
uredpersonstomeetendsof
j
ustice,whereappel
lantsinf
li
ctedinj
uri
esbysharpweapon.Thecourtf
urtherobserv
ed
thatthepoweroft heCour tsunderSecti
on357wasi nt
endedt odosomet hi
ngt o
reassurethevict
imt hatheorshei snotfor
gott
eninthecrimi
naljust
icesystem.Koli
Jeram Bhimjiv
.Stat
eofGuj arat
,1998(1)GLR754.

Compensat
ioni
nthecaseofRash&Negl
igentDr
ivi
ng:

TheCrimecommi ttedbyt heaccused,t

heGujar
atHighCourthel
dthati
twoul
dbejust
andpropertodir
ectt heaccusedt opayasum ofRs.20,000ascompensati
ont
ot he
vi
ctm.St
i ateofGujaratv.AbdulKari
m C.Mansur
,1999(3)GLR1905.
Compensat
ioni
nst
eadofFi
ne:

TheHon’ bl
eGuj ar
atHighCour theldthat
,wher ethedeceasedleftbehindwidow and
foursons,theaccusedwasdirectedtopayRs.20,000tothefamil
yofdeceasedi nst
ead
off ine.The amountoff ine/compensati
on shallbe paidt ot he hei
rs& l egal
represent
ativ
esofthedeceased.AbhubhaiFatabhaiv.St
ateofGujarat,
2000Cr.LR(Guj)
207.
Compensat
ionwi
thPuni
shment:

TheHon’ bl
eSupr emeCourtfoll
owedt hi
spr i
ncipl
einthecaseofRachhapalSi
nghv.
StateofPunjab,
AI R2002SC2710, heldthatiti
sopentothecour
tunderSect
ion357(
3)
oftheCode,toawar dcompensati
ont othevicti
m orhi
sfamil
y.

Compensat
ioni
nMur
derCase:

TheHon’
bleSupr
emeCour
thel
dthatwher
eitwasf
oundt
hataccusedcommi
tt
edt
hef
t
ofmoneyandj ewell
ery,from appell
antwifeandkil
ledherhusbandwhowast heonl
y
earni
ngmemberoff ami l
y.Theref
ore,overandabov et
hesentenceimposedbycour
t
andalsoi mposedfine/compensat i
onont heaccusedandpai dtothefamil
yofthe
deceased.PamulaSaraswathiv.StateofA.
P.,(
2003)4ILD116(SC).

Judi
cialdi
rect
iont
oConst
it
uteVi
cti
m Wel
far
eFund

Init
iall
yi n1998,t heSupr emeCour trecommendedt otheSt ateconcer
nedt o
makelawf orsett
ingapar taportionofthewagesear nedbytheprisonertobepaidas
compensat i
ont odeservingvict
imsoft heoffenders,thecommi ssi
onofwhi chentai
led
thesentenceofi mpr i
sonmentt ot hepr i
soners,ei
therdirect
lyorthr oughacommon
fundtobecr eat
edf orthispurposeori nanyot herfeasi
blemode.( StateofGujar
atv.
Hon’bl
eHi ghCour tofGujarat
,AIR1998SC3164) .

I
n2003,
theHon’
bleGuj
aratHi
ghCourtal
sohassuggest
edthat
,iti
shi
ght
imet
o
cr
eat
eaconsol
idat
ingt
heVict
im Wel
far
eFundonaStat
utorybasi
s.

ThePunjabandHar y
anaHi ghCourthashel dthattheSt at
esar egenerat
ingt he
rev
enuef rom f
inespaidbyprisonersincri
minalproceedings&nopar toft
hismoneyi s
bei
ngpai dtothev i
cti
msoft hecrimes.Wheret heheirsoft hedeceasedwereawar ded
Rs.2l akhsascompensat ionandt hepersonswhower eper manentlybli
ndedwer e
awardedRs.1.50lakhsascompensat i
on.(Kri
shanv .StateofHar y
ana).Thecour talso
hasconsideredmanyaspect sofv i
cti
m compensat i
on,reviewedthelawont hesubj ect
andthedev el
opmenttaki
ngpl acewor l
d-wi
de.

Unit–I
V
Vict
imol
ogy
Hi
stor
yandPhilosophy

I
ntr
oduct
ion

Thereasonabl
emanadapt
shimsel
ftot
heWorl
d.Theunreasonabl
eonepersists
i
nt r
ying t
o adaptthe Wor
ldto hi
mself
.Ther
efor
e al
lprogress depends on the
unr
easonabl
eman.

-Geor
geBer
nar
dShaw

I
nanci entci vi
li
zati
ont hevicti
m ofanof fencewast hecentralf i
gur
ei nany
cr
iminalsetti
ng.Inourownpr e-modernpolity,
theinj
uredofthev i
cti
m hadav i
talsayin
mattersconnect edwi threstit
utionorr etr
ibuti
on.Butslowly,asoneci v
ili
zat
iongav e
wayt oanother,privaterevengegav ewayt opubl i
cjusti
ce.Withthegov ernmenttaking
onther esponsibil
i
tyformet ingoutj ust
ice,theoff
enderhasbecomet hepr imeandt he
vi
cti
mi scompl etelyforgot
ten.
 The Penologi
st,jur
ists,psy chol
ogi
st,sociol
ogist
,psy chi
atr
ist
,cr i
minologi
st,
socialworker
s,andthegov ernmentwi thoneanotherinfi
ndingexplanati
ons,reasons,
excuseswhyacr imeiscommi t
ted,whythecri
minalshouldnotbedealtwithpuniti
vel
y
butrefor
mat i
vel
y,&whysoci etyistoblamefort
heanti-
socialactsofafew.

I
tisapar odyonthev egari
esoft hecri
minaljusti
cesy st
em oftheDev el
opi
ng
Worldthati n spi
teofmor et han si
xtyyearsofi ndependencetherehasbeenno
conceptualst
udyorempi r
icalr
esearchregardi
ngthev i
cti
m ofcrimi
naloffences.Ev
en
i
nDev el
opedWor l
dsuchstudi
eswer enotundert
akentil
l1947.

I
nEur ope,Amer i
caandAust ral
ia,vi
cti
mology ,acompar ati
vel
ynew br anchof
cri
mi nology,hassincerescuedthev i
cti
mf r
om obl i
vi
on.Wi ththei mpet usgiv
enint he
United Kingdom byMer geryFry ,who wasnev ertired ofadv ocating theneed for
tr
ansl at
ingabst r
acttheoryintolegisl
ativ
eterms.Thei deaofSt at
eCompensat i
ont o
vi
ctim ofcr i
minaloffenceswasmoot ed.Sev er
alcount ri
esinWest ern& Southern
Europe,t heUni t
edSt at
es,Canada,andAust rali
a,takingthel eadgi venbyt heNew
Zealandi n1963,hav elegisl
atedf orpaymentofcompensat iont ov i
ctimsofCr i
minal
Offencef rom publ
icfunds.

Hi
stor
yandphi
losophy
The wor d‘vict
imology
’was coi ned in 1947 bya French Lawyer,Benj
amin
Mendelsohn,l
ateraciti
zenofIsr
ale,
byder iv
ingfrom aLati
nword‘Vict
ima’andaGreek
word‘l
ogos’.Victi
mologybasical
lyast udyofcr imef r
om thepointofv i
cti
m,ofthe
per
sonssuf f
eri
ngf r
om inj
uryordestructi
onbyt heacti
onofanotherpersonoragroup
ofper
sons.

Ther
ear er ef
erencesi n Manusmr
it
i,compensati
onbei
ng pai
dt ovi
cti
msof
cr
iminalof
fences.Eveninr ecentti
mes,cri
minalj
usti
cewasint
roducedinI
ndia,t
he
vi
cti
m wasnotcompl et
elyneglect
ed.

Refer
encestovict
im compensati
onar
ealsofoundi hecodeofHammur
nt abhi
.It
i
ssaidthatitwasquit
ecommonf ortheearl
yciv
il
izat
ionst
oextractpay
ment
sf ort
he
v
ict
imsfrom theof
fenders,
whichprocessi
snowknownasr est
it
ution.

Duri
ng the l
ast some decades,severaljust
if
icat
ions for i
nit
iat
ing vi
cti
m
compensat
ionprogr
ammeshavebeenadv ancedinv
icti
mological
li
ter
atureintheWest.

Thej ust
if
icat
ionf
orvict
im compensat i
onist hetheoryoftheState.TheStateisa
complexofr ul
ers&r ul
ed,poli
ti
call
yconcei ved,terr
it
orial
l
yor gani
zed,seekingbyt he
confer
mentofpower sont heruler
st heeffecti
vemaxi mizati
onoft hei ndi
vidualand
soci
alwelfare ofthe r
uled.The st at
e achievesi t
spur poset hr
ough enact ment&
promulgat
ionoflawsanditenforcesobediencetot helawsbytheexer ci
seofpower .

Poweristhecapaci
tyt
oproduceintendedeff
ect
.Ift
heintendedeff
ectcannotbe
producedinrespectofanyl
aw,t
hestatehast oassumeresponsibi
l
ityf
orthel
oss,pain,
ordamagecausedt oanyl
awabi
dingcit
izenbysomeone’sdisobedi
enceofthelaw.

Anot
herf
unct
ionalj
ust
if
icat
ionf
orv
ict
im compensat
ioni
sthe“
wel
far
e”t
heor
y
ari
singfr
om t
heassumpt ionthatthegov er
nmentexi
stsandfunct
ionsforthepeople.
Thisappr
oachholdsthat
,justasthestatehasahumanit
ari
andutytothepoor,t
hesick,
theunemployed,theunderpri
vi
leged,thedisabl
edvet
eran,andsoon,i thasadut y
towardst
hevicti
msofcri
meal so.

Relatedt
owel far
et heoryist he“mer cyofthegov ernment”theor y
.Underthis
rat
ionale,itisarguedthatt hestat ehast hepowert o“ dealmer ci
fullywithcert
ain
i
ndividual
s”.Thusi tmay,byl egi
slati
vegrace,grantcompensat i
ont oi ndi
vidual
swho
havebeenunf ort
unatetobecomev icti
msofspeci f
iedcri
minalinci
dents.The“ mercyof
thegov er
nment”theoryi
slessgener alandinclusi
vethanthesocialwelfaretheory
.

Yetanotherjusti
fi
cati
onof f
eredf orvi
ctim compensati
oni sthe ‘
sharedri
sk’
ar
gument .I
nasense,thegovernmentmaybev i
ewedasanent r
epreneuroranemployer
whoincludest
hecostoft heri
skserviceherenderstotheconsumerinthepriceoft
he
pr
oduct.Thus,eachconsumercont ri
butestowardsthepayment smadet othosefew
i
ndiv
idualswhowill
becompensat edfordamages.

Somet i
mes,crimei shel dto bet heresultofcer tai
n condi
ti
onsofmoder n
ci
vil
izati
on:unemploy ment,squal
or,wantofaffecti
on,il
l
-tr
eatmentdur
ingadol
escence,
l
ackofequaloppor tunit
ies,pooreducati
on,andsoon.I fso,theargumentmaybe
addedt hatsoci
etyi
tselfi
st obl
amef oranycri
mi nalvi
cti
mizati
on.

Vict
imologyisyettofocusitsat
tenti
onont hi
stypeofcri
minali
tyf
orher
ethe
enti
resoci
ety,thewholenati
on,isthevi
ctim,thoughit
simpacti
nt er
msofhardshi
p
fal
l
sont heeconomical
lyweakersegmentsofthepopul
ati
on.

Benj
aminMendel
sohnhasconst
ructedat
ypol
ogypr
edi
cat
edont
hebasi
soft
he
v
ict
im’
scont
ri
but
iont
ocrimi
nal
it
y.Herefer
sto:

a)Compl
etel
yinnocentvi
cti
ms,suchaschi
l
dren&peopl
ewhoar
ethev
ict
imsof
cr
imewhentheyareunconsci
ous;

b)Vict
imswit
hminorguil
t&vict
imsofi
gnor
ance,suchaspr
egnantwomenwhogo
toquacksf
ormiscar
ri
age,
andpayfori
twit
htheirl
iv
es;

c)Vol
untar
yv i
cti
ms,such as t
he ones who commi
tsui
cide orar
e ki
l
led by
eut
hanasi
a;

d)Vi
cti
mswhoaremor eguil
tyt
hant
heof
fender
s,suchasper
sonswho pr
ovoke
ot
herst
ocommitcr
ime;and

e)Themostgui
lt
ytypeofvict
imswhocommi
tof
fencesagai
nstot
her
sandget
ki
ll
edbyot
her
sinsel
f-
def
ence.

Anothervi
cti
mologi
st,AbdelFat
tahofCanada,
hasoutl
inedarathercompl
i
cated
schemewhi chhasfiv
emaj orcategor
iesofvict
ims–thenon-par
ti
cipat
ing,t
hel
atent
,
thepr
ovocativ
e,t
heparti
cipat
ing,
anddefiant
.
 Unti
lafewy ear
sago,inEuropethevict
imsofcri
mehadnomeansofobt ai
ning
compensati
onotherthanwhatmi ghtbecall
edconvent
ionalmeanst
hroughcourt
sof
l
aw.InIndi
a,ev
ennowt heposit
ionremainsso.

UnderSection5oftheProbat
ionofOffender
sAct
,1958,t
heoff
endermaybe
r
equi
red,onreleaseonpr
obati
onunderSect
ion3or4oftheAct,t
opaycompensat
ion
t
othevict
im ofcri
me.

TheWorkmen’
sCompensat
ionAct
,1923,pr
ovi
desascal
eofcompensat
ionf
or
i
njur
ybyacci
dent
.

Nosuchr esear
chhasbeenconductedinI
ndi
a,butabeginninghasbeenmadeat
theNati
onalInst
it
uteofCr
imi
nology&ForensicSci
ence.Thereasonforthei
nadequacy
oftheconventi
onalcr
imi
nall
awt heworl
dov eri
nprovi
dingadequatecompensati
onfor
thevi
cti
m arethesame:

1.Manyv
ict
imsdonotmakeacompl
aint
.Thi
sint
urnhasi
tsownr
eason:

a)Popul
ari
mpr
essi
onaboutt
hef
uti
l
ityofmaki
ngacompl
aint

b)Theharassmenttowhi
chacompl
ainanthastosubj
ecthimsel
fifacasei
s
char
ge-
sheetedi
nacour
tofl
awont
hebasisoft
hecomplai
nt

c)Ther
igor
ousofv
exat
iouscr
oss-
exami
nat
ioni
ncour
t

d)Thei
nconv
eni
encecausedbynumer
ousadj
our
nment
s

e)Fearoft
heof
fender
’sv
engeance.

2.Whenacompl
ainti
smade,i
nmanycases,t
heof
fender
sar
enotei
theri
dent
if
iedor
found.

3.Ev
eni
fident
if
iedandf
ound,
theyar
enotconv
ict
ed.

4.Onconv
ict
ion,
theof
fendermaynotbei
naposi
ti
ont
oaf
for
dcompensat
ion.

Vi
cti
mology
Eur
opeanExperi
ence
I
ntr
oduct
ion

Mostcountries i
n Europe hav
e enacted l
egi
slati
on and f
oll
owed i
tup wi t
h
admi
nistrat
ivemeasurestobringthefrui
tsofvict
imologi
calthi
nki
ng tothecit
izens.
Onl
yGr eeceandCyprusarethetwoexceptionstothi
sr ul
einWesternEur
ope.I
tisnot
pr
oposedtocoverher
etheworkdoneinever
ycountr
yinEur
ope,butanat
tempti
s
madetohi
ghl
ightt
hepri
nci
pal
feat
urei
nafewcount
ri
es.

Uni
tedKi
ngdom
TheCri
minalInj
uri
esCompensat
ionSchemewasf ir
stintr
oducedintheUnit
ed
Kingdom in1964 asanexper i
mentonanon- stat
utor
ybasi sto prov
ideexgrati
a
compensati
ontothev i
cti
msofcri
mesofviol
enceandtothosehurti
ntheirat
tempt
sto
arrestt
heoff
endersandtopr
eventcr
imes.

Theschemei sadmi ni
steredbyani ndependentCri
mi nalI
njuri
esCompensat i
on
BoardwhichconsistsofaChai rmanwi thwidelegalexper
ienceandsomel awyerswho
pr
acticeinthecourtsandgi v
epar tofthei
rtimetothescheme.Al thoughthemember s
oftheBoar dareappoi nt
edbyt hemi ni
sterandt hegov ernmenti sresponsibl
efor
pr
ovidingthenecessarymoneyandst afft
oenabletheBoar dt ooperate,onl
ytheBoard
i
sresponsiblef
oritsdeci
sionsandt heyarenotsubjecttomi nist
eri
alrevi
ew.

Theschemeappl i
eswher et heinj
uri
esaresust
ainedi
nGreatBri
tai
norona
Bri
ti
shv essel
,ai
rcr
aft,orhovercraft.I
tisnotconf
inedtoBri
ti
shsubj
ectsalonebut
appl
iesequall
ytovi
sit
orsfrom othercount
ri
es.

Theinj
uredvict
im mayreceivecompensationevenift
hecriminali
snotarr
ested.
Butcompensati
onwi l
lnotbepaidunlesstheBoardissati
sfi
edthatt
heamountpay able
wil
lbemorethan£150andt hattheincidenthasr
esult
edincri
minalproceedi
ngs,
orhas
beenrepor
tedtothepoli
cewithoutdelay.

Ear
li
ercompensati
onwasnotpay able,i
fthevict
im andtheoff
ender,werel
ivi
ng
toget
herasmember softhesamef amily.Theschemedoesnotappl ytoi
njuri
escaused
i
nt r
aff
icoffences(
exceptwherether
ehasbeenadel i
berat
eattempttoharmt hevi
cti
m)
becauseanadequatesystem ofi
nsurancealsoexist
s.

Compensati
oni scalcul
atedonthesamebasisasdamagesi nci
vi
l proceedi
ngs&
i
spai dinlumpsum r atherthanaperiodi
cpension.I
tincl
udespay mentf orthepain&
suffer
ingcausedbyt heinjury&f ort
helossofearni
ngsorear ningcapaci t
y&out -
of-
pocketexpenses.I
ncaseofdeat hofv i
cti
m,thecompensati
onf orthelossofi ncome,
forthefuneral&otherexpensesi spayablet
ot hewidow ort
ot hedependent soft he
vict
im.

Theclai
msareinvest
igatedbyt hest af
foft heBoard&t hecompensati
oni s
assessed byone memberoft he Boar d.Ifthe vict
im does notacceptthe fi
rst
assessment,hemayappearper sonal
lybeforethreeot hermember softheBoar d.
Alt
hough,no appealagai
nstt hedecision oftheBoar d,a claimantmayseekt he
i
nterventi
onoftheHighCourtwher etherehasbeenasubst anti
alerr
ori
nlaw onthe
par
toft
heBoar
d.

Acomprehensi
verevi
ewoft heschemewasstart
edin1973t oseewhatchanges
wer
enecessaryinordertoincorporat
eiti
ntoastatut
e.Thegov ernmentofU. K.has
i
ntr
oduced a r
evsed Cr
i i
minalInjuri
esCompensat
ion Schemegi ving ef
fectfrom 1
Oct
ober1979 tonearl
yallther ecommendati
onsofanof fi
cialwor ki
ngpartywhich
r
eport
edin1978.

Cr
imi
nalI
njur
iesCompensat
ionScheme
Themaj orchangeintheSchemei si
nitsextensi
ontothevi
cti
msofv iol
ence
wit
hint
hefami l
y.Theli
mitont heamountofear
ningswhichmaybetakenint
oaccount
whenassessingcompensationf orl
ossofearningsisalsor
aisedt
oi nsur
ethatful
l
compensat
ionispaidtothegreatmajor
it
yofpol
icemen.

TheSchemehadpr evi
ousl
yexcludedvi
cti
mswhower eli
vi
nginthesamef ami l
y
as the off
ender.The worki
ng part
y agreed wit
ht he Boar
dt hatinv iew oft he
consider
ablepubli
cconcer
naboutthenumberofwomenand, inpart
icul
ar,
chil
drenwho
suff
eredv i
olencewit
hinthefamil
y,someef f
ortshouldbemadet oovercomet hese
dif
fi
culti
es.

Nat
ionalAssoci
ati
onofVi
cti
m’sSuppor
tScheme
The Nat i
onal Associat
ion of Vi ctims’ Support Schemes consi st
s of
repr
esent at
iveoflocalvi
ctims’supportschemeselectedonar egionalbasi
s.Thereare
now ov er30l ocalvict
ims’supportschemesi nthecount ryandabout20ar ei nthe
courseofest abl
ishi
ngt hemsel
ves.Thegov er
nmentgr antistoenabl etheNat ional
Associationtoempl oystafft
oestabli
shcommonst andardsaremet hodsofoper ati
on
forexi
st i
ngandf utur
eschemesandt ohel pcoordi
nat
et hei
rint
erestsandacti
vit
ies.

The compensat ion scheme i s admini

stered by t he Cr i
mi nal Inj
uries
CompensationBoar d,whichisassi
stedbynecessarystaff
.Appointmentst otheBoar d
are made byt he SecretaryofState,aft
erconsultati
on wit
h Lord Chancel l
or.The
Chair
man&t hemember softheBoard,whoarelegal
lyquali
fi
ed,areappointedtoser ve
forf
iveyear
s, &thei
rappoi nt
mentisrenewabl
eforsuchper i
odast heSecretar
yofSt ate
consi
derappropriat
e.

Theydonotser veontheBoar dbey ondtheageof72,oraf terreti

rementf r
om
l
egalpract
ice,
whi chev
erisearl
ier
,exceptthat,wheretheSecretar
yofSt ateconsider
sit
tobeintheint
erestsoftheSchemet oextendapar ti
cularappoi
ntmentbey ondthatli
mit,
hemaydoso.TheSecr etar
yofSt at
emay ,ifhet hinksfit
,ter
mi nateamember ’
s
appoi
ntmentont hegroundofincapacit
yormi sbehavi
our .

TheBoardisfundedbyagrant
-i
n-ai
doutofwhi chpayment
sforcompensat
ion
ar
eawar
dedinaccor
dancewit
hthepri
nci
plessetoutbelow.
 TheBoardisresponsi
blefordecidingwhatcompensat i
onshoul dbepai di n
i
ndivi
dualcasesanditsdeci
sionisnotsubj ectt
oappealortomi ni
steri
alr evi
ew.The
generalwor
kingoftheSchemeis,however,keptunderrevi
ewbythegov ernment&t he
Boardsubmitsannual
lyt
otheHomeSecr etar yar
eportontheoper
ati
onoft heScheme,
toget
herwithit
saccounts.Therepor
tandt heaccount’
saresubj
ectt opar li
amentary
contr
ol.

TheBoar
disempower
edt
owi
thhol
dorr
educecompensat
ioni
fitconsi
der
s
t
hat:

a)Theapplicat
ionhasnottaken,withoutdelay
,allreasonablest
epst oinf
ormthe
poli
ce,oranyotheraut
horit
yconsi deredbytheBoar dtobeappr opri
atefort
he
purpose,ofthecir
cumstancesoft heinj
ury&t ocooper atewit
ht hepoli
ceor
otherauthor
it
yinbr
ingi
ngtheoffendert oj
usti
ce;or

b)Theappli
canthasf
ail
edt
ogiveal
lreasonabl
eassi
stancet
otheBoar
dorot
her
aut
hori
tyi
nconnect
ionwi
tht
heappl
icati
on;or

c)Hav i
ngr egardtotheconductoft heappl i
cantbef
ore,dur
ingoraftertheevents
givi
ngr i
set otheclaim ortohischaracter&wayofl i
fe-and,inappl
icati
onsfor
funeralexpensestot hecharact
er,conduct,andwayoflif
eoft hedeceased&of
theapplicant–iti
si nappr
opriat
ethatafullaward,
oranyawar datal
l,begrant
ed.

Basi
sofCompensat
ion
Subj
ectt
ot heotherpr
ovi
sionsofthi
sScheme, compensat
ioni sassessedonthe
basi
sofcommonl aw damagesandnor mall
ytakestheform ofal umpsum pay ment
,
al
though the Board may make alter
nati
ve arr
angementsi n accordance wit
ht he
provi
sions.

Morethan one pay

mentmay be made where an appl
i
cant
’s el
i
gibi
li
tyfor
compensati
onhasbeenest abl
i
shedbutaf
inalawar
dcannotbecalcul
ateinthefi
rst
i
nstance.

Wherethev i
cti
m hasdi edot
her
wisethani
nconsequenceoft heinjur
y,theBoar
d
maymakeanawar dinr espectofl
ossofwages,expenses,&liabi
l
iti
esincur
redbefor
e
deathasar esultoft heinjurywhet
herornott heapplicat
ionforcompensat i
onin
respectoft
heinjuryhasbeenmadebef oret
hedeath.

Pr
ocedur
eforDet
ermi
ningAppl
icat
ions:
Ev
eryappl
i
cat
ioni
stobemadet
otheBoar
dinwr
it
ingassoonaspossi
bleaf
ter
theev entonaf orm obtai nablef rom theBoar d’soffi
ce.Thei ni
ti
aldeci
sionont he
amountofanycompensat ionawar dedismadebyonememberoft heBoardandwher e
anawar dismadetheappl icantisgi venabreak-upoft heassessmentofcompensation,
exceptwheretheBoar dconsi der
st hi
sinappropriat
e,&wher eanawar disrefusedor
reducedthereasonsf orthedeci sion,heisent i
tledtoaappl i
cantisnotsat
isf
iedwi t
h
thedecisi
on,beenti
tledtoahear ingbef or
ethreemember softheBoardotherthanthe
memberwhomadet heiniti
al deci
sion.

Anappli
cat
ionforheari
nghastobemadewi thin3mont hsofnot
ifi
cat
ionofthe
i
nitialdecisi
on;however,theBoardmaywaivet hi
stimelimitwhereanextensionis
request edwit
hgoodr easonwithi
nthe3monthperiod,orr
equestedwit
hgoodr eason
withinthe3mont hperiod,orwher
eiti
sother
wiseintheint
erestsofj
ust
icetodoso.A
decisionbythechair
mannott owaivethet
imeli
mitisfi
nal
.

Thepr ocedureatheari
ngsi sinfor
malconsist
entwi t
htheproperdeterminati
on
ofapplicati
on&t heheari
ngsarenotopent othepubl i
c.TheBoardhasdi scr
etionto
permitobserverssuchasr epr
esentati
vesofthepressradio&TV,toatt
endthehear i
ngs
provi
det hattheygivewri
tt
enunder t
akingsthatt
heanony mit
yoftheappli
cantandother
part
ieswi l
lnotinanywaybei nfr
ingedbysubsequentreporti
ng.

FRANCE
I
n March 1977,an Actcameint
of orcet
hroughoutt
heRepubl
icofFr ance
guar
anteei
ngStateCompensati
onforcer
taincat
egori
esofphysi
cali
njur
yresult
ing
fr
om cr
ime.

Thelegi
slati
onhadbeendraf
tedanddebatedi
n1975and1976,&wheni twas
bei
ngframed,accountwast
akenofthewor
kbeingdonei
notherEur
opeancount
ri
eson
compensat
ingthev i
cti
msofcr
ime.

The i
dealofcommunalsolidar
it
y and r
esponsi
bil
i
tyl
argel
y under
li
nes t
he
condi
ti
onsandthepr
ocedur
eofcompensati
on.

Condi
ti
onsofCompensat
ion
Thecondit
ionstowhi
chcompensat i
onfrom publi
cfundsforvict
imsofcrimeis
subjectrel
atetothecauseoftheinj
ury
,thelossordamage,i tsnat
ure,thesubsi
diar
y
natureofstat
ecompensati
on,andaboveallt
hebehaviourofthevi
cti
ms.

Thecauseofi
njur
y,l
oss,
ordamage:
Byt
hetermsofAct,t
hei
njur
y,l
oss,ordamagesuffer
edmustr
esul
t“f
rom wi
l
lful
ori
nvol
unt
aryact
swhichhavet
hemateri
alfeat
uresofanoff
ence”
.
 Theideabehi ndisthatoncet
hedeedsgi
vingrisetot
heinjury,l
oss,ordamage
arehel
dt oconstit
uteacrime,thepr
imar
ydutyoftheauthor
it
yresponsibl
ef ordeal
ing
witht
heappl i
cat
ionsforcompensati
onsi
stoconsiderthemater
ialnatur
eoft hecri
me
rat
herthanthei
rlegalst
atus.

Thenat
ureofi
njur
y,l
ossordamage:
Fi
rstofal
l,i
njur
yresul
ti
ngfrom t
heoff
encehast obephysical
.Thecri
minalacts
musthaveresul
tedeit
herindeat
horinper
manentdisablementorintot
ali
ncapaci
tyfor
wor
kexceedingonemont h.

Secondly,thetermr esulti
ngf r
om bodi
l
yi nj
urymustentai
lfi
nanciall
osswhichis
defi
nedas“ alossorr educti
onofi ncome,anincreasei
nexpensesorunf i
tnesst
ocar r
y
onanoccupat i
on”.Itbecomesoper ati
vei
fapersonhastostopwor kforat i
meorhasa
changeofoccupat i
on,ori scompel l
edtogiveupanyf utur
epr act
iceofapr of
ession
appropri
atet ohisorherabi li
ti
es,evenifatthet i
meoftheof f
enceheorshedi dnot
haveapr ofessionaloccupation.

Thesubsi
diar
ynat
ureofSt
ateCompensat
ion:
Thisisafundamentalpr
inci
ple,t
heSt
ateCompensatesthev i
cti
msonlyift
hey
hav
enoot herri
ghttocompensati
onandaresuf
fer
ingser
ioushardshi
pasregar
dsthei
r
mater
ialci
rcumstances.

Ser
iousHar
dshi
pincur
redbyt
hevi
cti
m:
Thecommunalsol i
dari
tyonwhi chtheFr enchlegi
slati
onisbasedsuppor t
sonl y
themostdepriv
edv i
cti
ms.Thest at
eaccordi
nglycompensat esonlythosepersonswho,
becausetheycannotbecompensat edf
ortheiri
njury,l
ossordamage, incurhar
dshipas
regardsthei
rmateri
alcircumstances.Itisthef inalhel
pf orthosevicti
m ofcriminal
offenceswhohavenoot hersourceofhelptolookt o.

Behavi
ouroft
heVi
cti
ms:
Al
lthecondi
ti
onsli
stedaboveareconcurrentandallhavetobef ul
fi
ll
edifthe
Boardi sto be ableto award compensati
on.Ev en i
falloft hem aref ulf
il
led,
“compensati
onmayber ef
usedorreducedbyreasonoftheinjur
edpart
y’sbehavi
ourat
theti
meoft heof
fenceorr
elat
ionwit
htheperpetr
atoroft
heoffence”
.
Compensat
ionPr
ocedur
e
Theprocedurehasbeendesi gned to makeitasf l
exi
bleandassi mpleas
possible.Appli
cat
ionf orcompensationwi l
lbeconsi
deredbyaBoar dsetupwi t
hint
he
j
urisdicti
onofeachCour tofAppeal.Thesecour t
shavethepowersofci v
ilcourt
sand
consistoft hreeappealj udges.Thev ict
im mayapplyeit
hertot heBoardi nwhose
j
urisdicti
onheorshei sdomi ci
ledortot hatinwhosejuri
sdi
cti
ont hecri
minalcourt
deali
ngwi ththeoffencehasi t
sseat.

Ift
hevicti
m doesnotl i
veinFr
anceheorshemayapplytotheBoardofthePari
s
CourtofAppeal.Theappl icati
ontoaBoar di
smadebyapet i
ti
onsubmitt
edwi t
ha
mini
mum off ormalit
y.Thepet i
ti
onmustcontai
ncertai
ninfor
mationconcer
ningthe
i
denti
ty ofthev ict
im,thecauseandt henat
ureoftheinj
ury,l
oss,ordamages,the
vi
cti
m’sfi
nancialposit
ion,
et c.

Oncet hepet i
ti
onhasbeenent er
ed,aninqui
ryisstart
ed.Dur ingthecour seof
i
nquiryapr ovisi
onalsum maybeawar dedtotheappli
cant.Whent hej udi
cialinquiryis
completed,adat eissetf
ortheheari
ng.Thevi
ewsoft heeachpartymaybest ated.The
stateisrepresentedbeforetheBoardbyt heTreasury
’sLegalAdv i
sor.Thedeci sion
render
edbyt heBoar dcanbechall
engedbefor
etheCour tdeCassation.

FEDERALREPUBLI
COFGERMANY
InMay1974,theFederalGovernmentcir
culatedadraftl
awonCompensat i
onfor
Vict
im ofCrimes ofv i
olence and submit
ted i
tt ot he l
egisl
atur
e.Aftert
horough
deli
ber
ati
on,bot
hthehousesofpar liamentadoptedthedr af
tpracti
cal
l
yunchanged.
TheActwaspromulgatedinMay1976andbecomeoper at
iveon16May1976.

The legisl
ati
on stems from the v
iew thatthe communi
ty has a speci
al
r
esponsi
bil
i
tyi fthecit
izenscannotbeprot
ectedfrom becomi
ngvi
cti
msofcrimesof
v
iol
ence.

TheActisdesignedtogiveadequat
ecompensat i
ontothosewhohav ebecome
vict
imsofsuchcr i
mes&t hedependent
ssur vi
vi
ngthosewhohav ediedasar esul
tof
thecrime.Theref
ore,theActprovi
desthat,uponappli
cati
on,thevi
cti
m ofacr imeof
viol
enceandhi ssurvivor
smaybepai dcompensat i
onf ordamaget ohishealthor
pecuniar
ydamagesuf fer
edasar esul
toft hatcr
imeaccordingtot heFederalWar
Vict
imsMai nt
enanceAct .

TheGermanlegi
slat
ionbear sthestampofGer many’
shist
ori
ccir
cumstances.At
theendoftheSecondWor ldWar ,theFederalRepubl
icofGermanyhadonherhands
overonemill
i
onwarv eter
answhohadbeendi sabl
ed&neededst at
eassist
ance.To
att
endthei
rprobl
ems,heDi
t sabl
edVet er
ans’Assist
anceAgencywassetup.
Thebenef
itundertheVict
ims’Compensat
ionLegisl
ati
on,r
eadwiththeFeder
al
WarVi
cti
msMaintenanceAct
,compri
se,abov
eall
, medi
cal&curat
ivet
reat
mentaswell
asmeasur
esr
equi
redf
orv
ocat
ional
rehabi
l
itat
ion.

Thehelpl
esspersonsaregrantedanur si
ngal
lowance.Ift
hevict
im hasdi
edasa
resul
toft heoff
ence,t
hewidow,t heorphans,andundercert
aincondit
ions,t
hepar
ent
s
areentit
ledtosurv
ivor
s’cl
aim andfreemedicaltr
eat
ment.

TheActfinal
l
yenumer atesthecrimeswhi chmaygi vecauset oacl ai
mf or
benef i
ts.Thedamagetohealthmustbet heresultofwi l
l
ful
,unlawf
ulassaul
tagainsta
personar eequatedtoassaul
ts.Besi
des,al
ltraf
fi
cof fencesareexcl
uded;anydamage
suffered as a r
esul
tthereofiscov er
ed byt he system ofcompul sor
yt hi
rd part
y
i
nsur ance.

TheActappliestotheoff
encescommit
tedonorafter16th May1976i
nthe
FederalRepubli
cofGermanyoronaGermanShi
porAir
craf
t.For
eignnati
onal
sar
enot
enti
tl
edt othebenef
it
sundert
heAct.

Thebenef
it
sundert
heActar
enotgr
ant
edi
fthev
ict
im causedt
hei
njur
yort
he
damagehimsel
f.

Thecl
aimsforcompensat
ionareconsi
der
edanddeci
dedbytheWarVi cti
ms
Benef
it
sAgenci
es.Thecl
aimsar
ejust
if
iabl
eandar
eadj
udi
cat
edbythesoci
alcour
ts.

Thecostoftheimplement
ati
onoft
heActi
nit
sfi
rsty
earofoper
ati
onhadbeen
est
imatedatabout10mil
l
ion.

I
TALY
I
nt heItal
ian l
egalsystem,thebasicprovisi
on gov er
ning compensat i
on for
damagesar i
singf r
om acr i
minalactiscontai
nedi nArticl
e185oft hePenalCode,
whereby“acriminalactcausingdamageofapat rimonialornon-patri
moni alnature
i
mposesanobl i
gati
ontopaydamagesont heguil
typersonandt hosewho, accordi
ngt o
theci
vill
aw,mustanswerf orwhathehasdone”.

Ont hebasisofthi
sprovisi
on,
whichhasit
sparall
elinci
vi
llawinArti
cle2043of
theCivi
lCodetheper soninj
uredbythecri
minalactcantakelegalact
iontodemand
paymentofdamages,choosi ngbet weenthetwot r
aditi
onalwaysofappear i
ng,in
cri
minalpr
oceedingsor…..

…br
ingi
nganact
ionbef
oret
heci
vi
lcour
thav
ingj
uri
sdi
cti
on.

Inbothcases,howev er
,damagesareorderedagai
nstt
hegui
l
typerson,whi
l
e
underthepresentl
egi
slat
ionnoprovi
sionexi
stsfordamagest
obepaidoutofpubl
i
c
funds,
appl
icablei
ngeneralt
oallcr
imes.

Infact
,aclauseincl
udedi
napri
sonr ef
orm bil
lcont
emplat
est
heestabl
i
shment
i
ntheMini
str
yofJusti
cea“ f
undf
orhel
pingandassist
ingvi
cti
msofcr
ime”
.
 Further
mor easf arasinj
uriescausedbyt hecir
cul
ati
onofmot orvehiclesand
boatsareconcer ned,Law No.9of1969deal i
ngwithcompulsor
yinsurancef orci
vi
l
l
iabi
li
tyestabl
ishedwi t
hint
heNationalI
nsuranceServ
icea“fundofguarant
eef orRoad
Vict
ims”.

THENETHERLAND
Theideaofestabli
shi
ngacompensationfundwherebycompensati
onwoul
dbe
pai
dfr
om governmentfundstovict
imsofseri
ouscr i
mesofv i
olencecameupinthe
Net
her
landsar
oundtheyear1970.TheBr
it
ishexperi
mentwasusedasamodel.

In1972,aBi
lli
ncor
porat
ingprovi
sionalr
egul
ationsf
ortheestabl
i
shmentofsuch
afundwassubmitt
edtotheStates–Gener al
.TheBil
lwasadoptedinFebruar
y1975by
theSecondchamberandaft
erit
sapprovalbythefi
rstChamberoftheDutchparl
i
ament
becamelawon1January1976.

Theter
m“ cr
imeofv i
olence”i snotdef i
nedindetailinthel egi
slati
on.Acts
committ
edwithoutcri
minali
ntent,i.
e.,mosttraff
icof
fences,are,however,excl
uded.
Thecr
imehast obecommi tt
edint heNetherl
ands,andforacrimecommi t
t edout
side
nocompensat
ioncanbemade.

Theamountofcompensat
iont
obegi
veni
sdet
ermi
nedaccor
dingt
owhati
sjust
andf
air.

No compensat
ion wil
lbe awar
ded i
n case wher
et he v
icti
m’sf i
nanci
al
ci
rcumstancesaresucht hathecanbeart
hedamageshi msel
fwithoutexcessi
ve
hardshi
p.

Nocompensati
onisawar dedincaseswherethevicti
m ort
herelat
ivewaspart
ly
responsi
blefor the cri
me;i n other words ifthe v i
cti
m provoked the cr
ime.
Compensationisinpri
ncipl
epossiblei
nt heNether
landsincaseswher etheoff
ender
andthevict
im ar
emember s,orweremember s,
ofthesamehousehold.

Compensat
ioni
sofasupplement
arynat
ure,t
hatis,
iti
sonl
yawar dedinr
espect
ofdamageswhichcannotbecl
aimedinanyotherway.Nocompensat
ion isawarded
i
nrespectof
:

a)Damagesthatar
eorcanbecompensat
edbywayofci
vi
llaw (
damagesagai
nst
whi
chthevi
cti
mispri
vat
elyi
nsur
ed)

b)Damagesf
orwhichcompensati
oni
sorcanbepr
ovi
dedi
nsomeot
herway
(damages
whichar
ecov
eredbysoci
alsecur
it
yschemes)

I
n doubtf
ulcases,orifcivi
lpr
oceedi
ngs woul
d be t
ime consumi
ng,t
he
Compensat
ionFundi
s,nev
ert
hel
ess,
empoweredt
oawardcompensat
ion.

I
fthedamagesamountt
olesst
han250,
nocompensat
ioni
spay
abl
e.
 WhentheCompensationFundawards,compensati
on,itassumesthev
ict
im’
s
r
ight
sagai
nsttheof
fender
,uptotheamountofthecompensat
ionawarded.

Therequestf orcompensati
onf r
om theFundhast obesubmi t
tedwithinsix
monthsaft
ert hedateonwhi chthecri
mei scommit
ted.Anyrequestsubmit
tedafter
twoyear
soft hepreparat
ionofthecri
mei snotadmi
ssibl
e.Iti
snotnecessar
yf ort
he
cri
metohavebeenr eport
edtothepoli
ce.

Ther
equest
sforcompensat
ionfrom t
heFundareconsi
deredbyanindependent
committ
eeoff
ivemembers.Theappl
icantmaypl
eadhiscaseattheCourtofAppealin
TheHaguei
fhewishest
oappealagai
nstthecommitt
ee’
sdecisi
on,i
ncaseswhere:

a)Compensat
ionwasr
efused,
or

b)Theamountawar ded wasso smal

lthatt
hecommi
tt
eehad appar
ent
lynot
reachedaf
airdeci
sion.

Thecommitteeist
oreporteachyeartoSt
ate-
Gener
alonitsacti
vi
ti
esand
thesumspai
d.Thelegi
slati
onhasr
etrospect
iveeff
ectt
ocri
mesofv i
olencecommit
ted
onoraft
er1Januar
y1973.

NORWAY
Theregul
ati
onsr
elat
ingtocompensat
ionf
rom publ
icfundsf
orpersonali
njur
ies
causedbypuni
shabl
eact
sar eadopt
edbyaRoyalDecemberof12March1976.

Nat
ureofI
njur
ies
To t he extentdeemed r easonable,the st at
e shallgr antcompensat ion in
accordancewi tht heregulati
onsf orper sonali
njuriescausedbywi l
l
fulassaultorby
otherpunishableactschar acter
izedbyv i
olenceoruseoff orce.Thesameshal lapplyto
personalinjur
iessustainedi nconnecti
onwi t
htheassi st
ancer enderedt othepolicein
arrest
ingthewant edof fenders,inpreventi
ngorat tempti
ngt oprev entthecommi ssion
ofa cr i
mi naloffence,ori nl awfull
yappr ehending orattempt ing to appr
ehend an
offender
.

Compensati
onisalsopay
ableift
heoffenceiscommit
tedi
nastateofi
nsani
tyor
unconsciousness(
Secti
on44oft hePenalCode),orbyaper
sonunder14year
sofage
(Sect
ion46oft heCode)
.

Ifthepersonali
njur
yresult
sindeat
h,compensat
ionmaybegr
ant
edf
ort
hel
oss
oft
hebread-
winneroftheperson.

Compensat
ionfrom publ
i
cfundsmaybegrant
edwhent heinj
uryi
sinfl
ict
ed
wi
thi
nthekingdom ofNor
wayoronboardaNor
wegi
anv essel
,aair
craf
toradev
iceor
ani
nst
all
ati
onf
orexpl
ori
ngand/
orexpl
oit
ingnat
ural
resour
ces.

AssessmentofCompensat
ionGr
ant
Compensat i
onforthei
njuryshal
lbegrantedbyanamountdeemedr easonabl
ein
eachcase.Fur thertot hi
s,t
heusualr ulesf orassessingdamageswithrespectto
personalinj
uri
esorl ossofbread-wi
nnershallappl
y,althoughsubj
ectt
othef ol
l
owing
specialr
ules:

1.Compensat
ionshallnotbegrantedi
fthelossforwhichcompensat
ionf
rom
publ
i
cfundsmighthavebeencl
aimedi
slessthan500;

2.Compensat
ionshal
lbel
i
mit
edt
oamaxi
mum of100,
000;

3. Inassessi
ngt heamountofcompensat i
onful
ldeducti
onshallbemadenotonl y
fordamagesduef r
om theoff enderhi
mselfaswellasbenefitduefr
om social
insuranceandpensionschemes,butal soforotherpaymentssuchasinsur
ance
coverage which the person applyi
ng f
orcompensation hasrecei
ved orwi l
l
recei
v easaresultofinj
ury.

4. I
njur
yofanon- economi
cnatur
eshal
lnotbecompensat
ed,unl
esst
her
ear
e
special
reasonsf
orsodoi
ng.

Pr
ocedur
e
Thepersoncl
aimingcompensationisexpectedtosubmi tawr i
ttenst at
ementt o
theeffectt
hathiscl
aim agai
nstt
heof fenderpassestothest atetotheext entthatthe
samedi sbur
sescompensat i
onbyv i
rtueoft heseregul
ati
ons.TheMi nistr
yofJust ice
decideswhether,
andifsotowhatextent,t
heSt at
e’scl
aim againstt
heof fendershall
be
pursued.

Theclai
msf orcompensati
onfrom publ
icfundsshallbedeci
dedbyapanel
consist
ingofthr
eemember swithper
sonaldeput
iesappoi
ntedbytheKingofNorway
foraper i
odoff ouryear
s.TheChair
manandDeput yChai
rmanshouldpossesslaw
degree.

Thepanelhast
osubmitannualr
epor
tsoni
tsacti
vi
ti
est
otheMi
nist
ry,whi
chi
n
t
urnsubmit
sreport
stoSt
ort
ing,
theNorwegi
anPar
li
ament.

Pr
oceedi
ngsoft
hePanel
 Theinjur
edpersonorhissur vi
vingdependent
sshallsubmitthei
rclaimsfor
compensati
ont othepanelthr
ought heSecr et
ari
atintheMi ni
str
yofJustice.The
mini
str
yshallpr
epareanappl
i
cati
onf orclai
msandshallpr
escr
ibetherul
esconcerni
ng
suchi
nformati
onasthepanelmayrequir
et obesubmit
ted.

Nor
mallythepanelrender sitsdeci
siononthebasisofthedocumentsinthe
case.I
fthepanelit
selfsodecides,oroneofthepar
ti
essorequest
,ahear
ingconduct
ed
oral
ly,
towhichparti
esshallsummoned.

Appeal
TheExgrat
iaCompensat
ionBoar
dfunct
ionsast
heappel
l
ateaut
hor
it
yinr
espect
ofdeci
sionr
ender
edbypanel
.

CostofPr
oceedi
ngs
TheTreasur
ymeet
sthecostoft
heact
ivi
ti
esoft
hepanelandt
heExgr
ati
a
Compensat
ionBoard.

SWEDEN
Allresi
dentsinSweden,irr
espect
iveofnati
onal
it
y,ar
ecov er edbyasi
ckness
i
nsurance.Thei nsur
ancereimbur
sesmostoft heexpensesincur
r edbythei
nsured
per
sonf ormedicalordent
alcar
eandprovi
dessi
cknesscashbenefi
ts.

I
nSwedenvol
untarylif
einsuranceandacci
dentinsur
ancear
equi
tecommon,
par
ti
cul
arl
yint
hef
orm ofgroupinsur
anceschemesforemploy
ees

ThePr
esentSy
stem
Inaccordancewi t
hagovernmentasy st
em forcompensat
ionexgrat
iafr
om
publ
i
cf undsforvicti
msofcri
mecamei ntooperat
ionin1971.Thesyst
em hasbeen
modif
iedinsomer espect
swi
thef
fectf
rom 1974.

Compensati
onisgrant
edbythegov ernmentandtheappl
icat
ionaretobemade
t
otheMi
nist
ryofJust
ice.Noappeal
ispossibleagai
nstt
hedeci
sionofthegover
nment
.

Compensati
onisgr antedforpersonali
njur
iescausedbycr i
mecommi tt
edin
Swedenorcommi t
tedelsewhereagainstanypersonpermanent
lyresidenti
nSweden.
Thev i
cti
m ofthecri
memayr ecei
vecompensationevenift
heoffenderisnotknownor
cannotnotbeprosecut
ed.
 I
ftheof
fencehasnotbeenrepor
tedt
othepoli
ce,compensat
ionwi
l
lnotbepai
d
unl
esst
heappli
cantpr
esent
svali
dreasonsf
ornothav
ingdoneso.

Compensationisrestr
ict
edt
odi st
ressingcasesandi spai
daccordi
ngt othe
needoft heappl
icant
.Theamountofcompensat i
onwillnotexceedt
hedamagesi nci
vil
proceedi
ngs.Compensat i
oncan–inaddit
iont ocompensat i
onforl
ossofearni
ngs,f
or
medicalanddentalexpenses–begrant
edf orpai
nandsuf feri
ngaswellasi
mpediment
orotherpermanentdamage.

I
fthev i
cti
m hasinsomewaycontri
butedt
othedamagedone,t
heamountof
compensat
ioncanbereducedort
heappl
i
cati
onrej
ect
ed.

Compensationfrom publ
icfundsi spaidforpersonali nj
uryanddamageto
pr
opertyatt
ri
butabletothegivi
ngofhel ptoanypol i
ceofficerwhoi sengagedi
n
ar
rest
ingoratt
empt i
ngtoarr
estanoffenderorasuspect
edoffender.

The above ment

ioned compensat
ion scheme i
s admi
nist
ered bya Speci
al
Admi
nist
rat
iveBoar
d.

Vict
imol
ogy
Ameri
canExper
ience
I
ntr
oduct
ion

I
ntheUni t
edStat
es,Cal
ifor
niawast
hef
ir
stf
eder
ati
ngSt
atet
olegi
slat
eon
Vi
cti
m Compensati
on,
int
heyear1965.

Thethi
nki
ngont hesubjectofvi
cti
mologi
calresear
chsurvey
sandcrimev ict
im
compensat
ionprogrammesr eceiv
edamoment um intheUnit
edStat
eswhenthev ict
im
compensat
ionl
egisl
ationbecameaf ai
taccomplii
nNewZeal andi
n1963andint heU.K.
i
n1964.themainplankonwhi chtheAmericanvi
cti
m compensati
onschemesrestare:

a)Publ
i
csuppor
tasr
eveal
edbyt
hepubl
i
copi
nion

b)Appr
eci
ationofthefactt
hattr
adi
ti
onal
lythecr
imi
nalj
ust
icesy
stem hasbeen
i
nsensi
ti
vetothevi
cti
msandthewit
ness,and

c)Asmeanstor
educethefearofi
nvol
vementont
hepar
toft
heci
ti
zeni
npl
ayi
ng
hi
srol
eint
hesoci
alt
askofcri
meprevent
ion.
 Theremediestoper sonsinvolv
edincriminalcasesasvict
imi
ncl
udei
nCi
vi
l
remedi
es,
Pr i
vat
einsurance,Publ
icAssi
stanceandRest
it
uti
on.

CI
VILREMEDI
ES

UndertheAmer i
cansy st
em ofl aw,theSt at
egr aduall
yassumedmanyoft he
“functi
on”ofthevicti
mi nlegalproceedings.I
ncr i
mi nalmattersthisresul
tedi nthe
“gradualel
imi
nati
onoft hev ict
imf rom thecri
mi nallaw proceeding,whil
et hestate
assumed responsi
bili
tyforaction againstthe offenderand relegated t
he victi
m’s
i
nt er
esttocommon- l
awprocedures”.

Thus,theStateassumedt heobli
gationtodiscover,appr ehend,tr
yandpuni sh
theoff
enderf orcrimi
naloffences;asar esult
,thevicti
my iel
dedhi sr i
ghttoseek
addi
ti
onalsat
isfact
ionfort
hecr i
mi nal
offence,butr
etai
nedt her i
ghttosuet heof
fender
i
ncivi
lcourtf
oranywr ongsthathemi ghthavecommi tt
edagai nstthev i
cti
m.

PRI
VATEI
NSURANCE

Inmanycases,pr iv
ateinsur
anceof f
ersthebestprot
ect
ionagainstseri
ous
f
inanci
allossasar esul
tofcri
me.Certai
nly
,iti
sthebestprot
ect
ionagai
nstpropert
y
l
oss,as the vi
cti
m compensation pr
ogrammes gener
all
ydo notoffersyst
emat i
c
r
eparat
ionforl
ostproper
ty.

However
,rel
i
anceonpr i
vateinsuranceast hesol emeansofv i
cti
mr epar
ati
on
rai
sesanumberoft roubli
ngissues.Thef i
rstoft heseis,equi
ty.Shouldt heperson
unabletoaffor
dcompr ehensiv
emedi cali nsurance.Final
ly,t
heinsurancecompani es
themselvesmayposesi gni
fi
cantbarrier
sf orcertainclassesofindividuals.Heal
th
i
nsurancemaybedi f
fi
culttoobtai
norext remelycost l
yforthechroni
call
yi l
l,
theelder
ly,
orthepoor.

PUBLI
CINSURANCE

Welfare,socialsecurity
,Medi careandot herf
ormsofpubl icassistancemay
provi
de some measur e of financialr eli
ef t
ot he cri
me victi
ms.Because t he
administr
ativ
e structures fort hese pr ogrammes ar
e alr
eady establi
shed in every
communi ty,thesefor m ofassi stancemaybeamongt hemostr eadil
yavailablefor
manyv ict
ims.Unf or
t unatel
y,publi
cassi stanceal
sopresent
sseveraldrawbacksf ort
he
cri
mev ict
ims.

Thel
evelofbenefi
tsprovi
dedmaynotfull
ycompensat
ethev
ict
imsf
ort
het
rue
amountofl
osstheyexper
iencedasaresul
toft
hecri
me.
RESTI
TUTI
ON

Theconceptofof f
enderresti
tuti
onisappeal
ingtomany ,andisoftenli
nkedwit
h
victi
m compensat i
on.TheVi cti
m ofCrimeAct,1978,whichnarr
owlymi ssedpassagei
n
theHouseofRepr esentati
vesandt heSenateintheclosinghoursofthe1978session,
alsor equi
redthattheSt atesshoul dprov
ideforof f
enderresti
tut
ioninor dertogai
n
eligi
bil
ityf
orfederalsupportfort
heircompensati
onprogrammes.

Theproponentsofresti
tuti
onoft
enci
t easadv antagesthepossibl
erehabil
i
tat
ive
functionofrestit
ution,t
heinherentj
usti
ceoflett
ingt hepunishmentf i
tthecri
me,and
thef actthatresti
tuti
onwouldr etur
nthevicti
m’srightt oexactpunishmentfrom the
offenderhimself.

TheLaw Enf
orcementAssi
stanceAdmi
nist
rat
ionhassponsor
edanumberof
r
est
it
utionpr
ogr
ammes.

I
n Georgia some of f
enders maybe diver
ted tothe resti
tut
ion progr
ammes
i
nst eadofbeingpl acedinprison.Theoff
ender
sar eal
lowedt owor kinthecommuni t
y
duringtheday,andr et
urntotheRestit
uti
onCentreintheevening.Theirpay
checksare
forwardedt ot heRest i
tut
ionCent r
e,whereappropri
atesumsar ededuct edforthe
restit
uti
onpayment .

PUBLI
CCRI
MEVI
CTI
M COMPENSATI
ON

Alt
houghvicti
m compensat ionalsoofferssev er
aldrawbacksast heprinci
pal
form offi
nanci
alaidforthevicti
msofcr ime,i
tisfeltbymanyt obet hemostequit
able
&consi st
entmethodof“ makingt hevict
im whole”.Unli
keresti
tut
ionpayments,ifis
avail
ableevenwhent heoffenderi snotapprehended.Thev i
cti
m’sabili
tytoreceive
reparat
iondoesnotrelyontheof f
ender’
sabil
it
yt omaket hepayment.

Themaj ordrawbacksofv ict

im compensati
onaret hecostsoft heprogrammes
&t helegi
slat
ors’fearsconcerningt hepossibl
eexpenseoft heprogrammei feligibi
l
ity
forcompensat ionisnotr estr
ictedt ocertainli
mit
edsi tuat
ions&i ndivi
duals.These
concernsforcosthav eresul
tedi nseveralmajorr
estr
ict
ionsont heprogrammesuchas
fi
nancialneedrequirements,minimum cl ai
ms,maximum awar dlimi
ts,&r est
ri
ctionson
thetypesoflosscompensat ed.

Poli
ticalsuppor
tforv i
cti
m compensat
ionl
egisl
ati
onhasbeeneasil
yfort
hcoming
i
nmanySt atesintheU. S.A.I
tisoneoftheprogrammeswhichr eadi
l
yfetchesvot
es.
What
ev eroppositi
onexists,i
tisonthegr
oundofexpense.

Thecompensationcl
aimshavet
obemadet hroughprescri
bedforms.Anini
ti
al
scr
eeningoftheappl
i
cati
onisdonebef
oref
urt
herpr
ocessing&t henhandedovert
oan
i
nvest
igator
.

I
nvesti
gati
on and verif
icati
on form t
he mostti
me-consuming aspectoft he
clai
m’sprocess.Theinvesti
gationseeksinf
ormati
ononthecr
ime,theinj
uri
esrecei
ved,
thevict
im’sbehaviourduri
ngandaf terthecri
me,t
heext
entofnetloss,andinrel
evant
casestheresourcesofthevict
im.
 The compensat i
on losses include medi
calexpenses,rehabil
i
tat
ion costs,
physi
caldisabil
i
ty,loss ofthe ser
v i
ces ofa fami
lymember ,loss ofsupportfor
dependant
s,funeral
costs,l
ossoffut
ur eearni
ngs,
mental
impairment,
andproper
tyloss
anddamage.

ELI
GIBI
LITYCRI
TERI
A

Poli
ciesconcer ni
ngeli
gibi
l
ityaregeneral
l
yf ormul
atedwit
hav i
ew t
ospecify
ing
thei
ntendedbenef i
ciari
es,tominimizethepossibil
i
tyofspuri
ousclaims,topromote
thevi
ct i
m cooperati
onwi t
hthecriminalj
usti
cesy st
em,&t ocontai
nthepersonswho
arei
njuredofprovidingcompensation.

Apartf
rom t
hepersonswhoareinj
uredorkil
l
edasar esul
tofcr
ime,t
hoseact
ing
t
oprev
entacrimeortoapprehendacri
minalort
ohelpavicti
m orgoi
ngtotheai
dofa
l
aw-
enfor
cementoff
icer
,becomeautomati
call
yel
igi
blef
orcompensati
on.

Theissueofr esidenti
alr
equir
ementswi t
hregardtoeli
gibi
li
tyforcompensat
ion
haspr ovokedconsiderabledebateintheU.S.A.SomeStatesextendcompensationto
thevicti
msi rr
espectiv
eoft heStat
esinwhi chtheyresi
de;someot hersconfi
neitto
thei
rresi
dents;st
il
lother shaver
ecipr
ocalar
rangementswiththeotherStat
es.

Thevicti
msrel
atedtotheoffendersareexcludedfr
om theel
i
gibi
li
tycr
it
eri
a.The
over-
ri
dingconcernprompti
ngt hisexclusi
onist hattheoff
endershoul
dnotunjustl
y
benefi
tfrom theawar
dtothev i
cti
m.

I
f avict
im haspart
ial
l
yorfull
ycontr
ibut
edtohi sownv i
cti
mizat
ion,t
hel
aw
pr
ovi
desfort
hereduct
ionoracompl
etedeni
alofcompensat
ion.

Ev
eryvi
cti
m compensat i
onprogr
ammerequi
resapre-
condi
ti
onforel
igi
bil
it
ythat
t
hecri
meshouldber eport
edt othepol
i
cewi
thi
nacertai
nperi
odoftime.Thereport
ing
r
equi
rementhasfouradvantages:

a)Iti
mprov
ethechancesofl
ocat
ingori
dent
if
yingt
heof
fenderanddet
ect
ingt
he
case.

b)Itmakesf orbet
terst
ati
sti
csandpr
esent
inganov
eral
lpi
ctur
eoft
hecr
ime
sit
uat
ion.

c)I
tencour
agespeopl
etodot
hei
rdut
yasci
ti
zen.

d)Abov
eal
l
,itcur
bsf
raudul
entcl
aimsf
orcompensat
ion.

Thecooperat
ionoft
hel
aw-
enf
orcementagenci
esi
samustf
ormostof
t
hecompensat
ionpr
ogrammes.

Somef i
nanci
alneedcr i
ter
iaareadoptedbymostoft heStat
esi
nawar di
ng
compensati
on.Manyadmi ni
str
atorsoft hecompensat
ionpr
ogrammesopposethe
fi
nanci
alhar
dshi
ptestsonseveral
grounds.
 Fir
st,thetestsaredi ff
icul
tto admini
ster
.Int hei
rat
temptstoreach a f
air
det
erminati
on of the clai
mant s’need,the compensati
on boar
ds mustconduct
pai
nstaki
nginvest
igat
ionsoftheclai
mants’f
inanci
alst
atus.

Second,they ar
e costl
yto admi
nist
er.The incr
eased admini
str
ati
ve cost
s
br
oughtaboutbyt heserequir
ementswouldatleastparti
all
yoffsett
hesav i
ngsin
awar
dsef f
ectedbyt
hetests.

Thi
rd,t
heneedbasedtestsmaynothav
easgr
eati
mpacti
ncont
rol
l
ingt
he
pr
ogr
ammecostsaspr
eviousl
ythought
.

ADMI
NISTRATI
ONOFTHEPROGRAMMES

Theadmi
nist
rat
ionoft
hev
ict
im compensat
ionpr
ogr
ammesi
sdonei
noneof
t
hreeways:

a)Thr
oughanewadmi
nist
rat
iveagencycr
eat
edspeci
fi
cal
l
yfort
hepur
pose;

b)Throughanexi
sti
ngadmi ni
str
ati
veagencysuchast
heworkmen’scompensat
ion
boardwhoseori
ginal
jur
isdi
cti
onisexpandedtoi
ncl
udev
ict
im compensat
ion;
or

c)Thr
ought
hecour
ts

In gener
al,t
he machi
ner
y of the cour
tsf or admi
nist
eri
ng v
ict
im
compensat
ionprogr
ammesisvi
ewedwit
hlessent
husi
asm t
hantheothert
woagenci
es.

Veri
fi
cati
onorinvest
igat
ionoft
hecompensat
ioncl
aimsi
saqui
tedi
ff
icul
t
pr
ocess.I
tincludesthefol
l
owing:

a)Scanni
ngthepol i
cereport
stoascer
tai
nthedet
ail
sofactualoccur
rence,the
vi
cti
m’scontr
ibuti
oninthecri
me,t
heident
it
yoft
heoff
ender,&possi
blevict
im-
off
enderr
elat
ionshi
p.

b)Scrut
inyofthehospit
alrecordswit
hav i
ewt
odeter
mini
ngseriousnessofi
njur
y,
theextentofdi
sabi
li
ty,
andt heest
imat
eddur
ati
onofdi
sabi
l
ity
.

c)Per
usaloftheinsur
ancedocument
swi thavi
ew t
oascertai
ningt
hedet
ail
sof
pay
mentstothevict
imformedi
calt
reat
mentorl
ossofear
nings.

d)Examinati
onofthef i
nanci
alassist
anceprogrammesrecor
dswit
hav i
ew to
ascert
aini
ngthepaymentsthatar
et obemadeorhav ebeenmadefr
om ot
her
fundssuchasworkmen’scompensati
on,
insur
ance,
andsoon.

e)Ascer
tai
ningt
hei
nfor
mat
ionr
egar
dingt
heempl
oymentoft
hev
ict
im.

f
) Scr
uti
nyoft
heper
sonal
financesoft
hev
ict
im.

g)Per
usaloft
hecour tr
ecordstodeter
mi nethecourseofcr i
minalcaseont
he
par
ti
cul
arof
fenceandtheoutcomeoftheprosecut
ion,
ifany
.
 Thepr ocessofinvest
igat
ionandv eri
fi
cati
onhasbr oughtinmanycomplaint
sof
delay.Ther ef
ore,simpli
fi
ed procedures such as br
iefv er
if
icat
ion,di
spensi
ng wit
h
i
nv est
igati
onal t
ogether
,andpay ingcompensationont hebasisofanappl i
cat
ionand
thepolicereportal
onearebeingtriedi
nsomeSt ates.

MODEOFPAYMENT

Paymentisoftwoki nds.Oneist hel umpsum pay mentandtheot herispay ment

oni nstal
lmentbasis.Thelatterisgener all
yempl oyedindeathordisabil
itycases.Itis
reckonedt hattheinstal
lmentpay mentsent ai
lhighercostofadmi nist
rationthant he
l
umpsum pay ments.Thereisapr ovi
sionf oraperiodi
creviewoft
hesepay mentswi t
ha
viewt odetermini
ngiftheclaimantisstil
l el
igi
bleandwhet hert
heamounti sappr opri
ate.

UNI
TEDSTATES
LATESTDEVELOPMENTS

Vi
cti
m ofCrimeActbecamepar tofFederalLawintheUnit
edStat
esin1984.A
Copyoft
hetextofthel
egi
slati
onappearsatappendix“
E”.InChapt
er232,
prov
isi
onhas
beenmadeforspeci
alf
orf
eitur
eofcoll
ater
alprof
itsofCri
me.

Ot
herpr
ogr
essi
vest
epst
akeni
ntheUni
tedSt
ates:

TheU.S.Depar
tmentofJust
icei
nit
sRepor
ttot
heNat
iononCr
imeandJust
ice
i
ncl
udesint
erali
a

a) Anexaminat
ionoft
her
elat
ionshi
pbet
weenf
earofCr
ime&act
ualr
iskof
cr
imi
nal
vict
imi
zat
ion.

b)Theef
fectofcr
imeoni
tsv
ict
ims.

c)Enqui
ryi
ntot
hegr
oupsofpeopl
ewhoar
eli
kel
y&l
eastl
i
kel
ytobev
ict
imi
zed.

d)Exami
nat
ionoft
her
isksofbecomi
ngav
ict
im ofr
ape,
robber
y,mur
deret
c.

e)Asser
tionthatvict
imsofmurderaremorement hanwomen,mor et
han
amonghigherones,
moreci
tydwel
l
erst
hanr
uralgr
oups,
more unempl
oyedt
han
empl
oyedpeople.

f
)Cr
imepr
edi
cti
onmet
hodadopt
edbyt
heci
ti
zens.

TheReportgoesindetailovert
hereasonsforthefactt
hatonl
yonethir
d
ofthet otalnumberofoff
encesi ntheUni
tedStatesarerepor
tedtothePol
ice.
Theyincludeunwil
li
ngnesstoreportwhentheoff
enderisknownandwhenminor
 t
hef
tsandar
econsi
der
edt
ooi
nsi
gni
fi
cantt
ober
epor
ted.

Theeconomi
cimpactofv i
olentcr
imel
i
kecostofmedi
calat
tent
ion,
lossofwor
k
payar
esoughttobeassessed.

Feder
all
egisl
ati
onpr ot
ect
sv i
cti
ms&wi t
nessesfrom i
nti
midati
on,usesf i
nes
i
mposedbycourt
st ofi
nanceassi
stancetov
ict
im.Legisl
ati
oni
nseveralStat
esrequi
res
t
hatv
icti
msshouldbenotif
ied

a)Atkeydeci
sionpoi
ntsi
nthet
ri
al&sent
enci
ng

b)Whenv
ict
imi
mpactst
atementar
etobei
ncl
udedaspar
tofi
nvest
igat
ionr
epor
t

THECANADI
ANEXPERI
ENCE
Twophilosophi
calr
easonsareof
fer
edinCanadaf
orgov
ernmentt
ounder
take
t
her
esponsi
bil
i
tytocompensatevi
cti
msofcri
me.

Thefi
rstargumentcent
ersroundthesocialcont
ractconcept
.Ci
ti
zensr
emi
t
t
axest
otheStat
e&delegat
eauthor
it
ytotheSt
ate.

TheSecond,jur
isdict
ionf orStat
esponsorshi
pofvicti
m compensat
ionstems
fr
om thewelf
aref
uncti
on.Gov ernmentsdevi
cewelfar
eassi
stancepr
ogr
amst oi
nsurea
basi
cstandar
dofli
vi
ngf ordisabledordepr
ivedci
ti
zens.

AllCanadi
anpr
ovi
ncel
i
mitcompensabl
eact
stov
iol
entcr
imesandex
clude
pr
oper
tycr
imes.

ELI
GIBI
LITY

Allprovi
ncesgr antcompensat i
ont othev ict
im,hi
sguar dianorcar et
aker,orin
thecaseofdeat h,dependents,incl
udingill
egi
timatechil
dren.Statutesusuall
yr equi
re
l
ocati
onoft hecrimewi t
hinthepr ovi
nceratherthanav i
cti
mr esidencyclause.Persons
whoar einj
uredwhileat t
emptingt opreventacr i
minaloff
ence&any oneinj
uredwhi l
e
assi
sti
ngal awenforcementof f
icer,mayreceiv
ecompensat ion.

Al
lv ict
im compensati
on laws have cer
tai
n eli
gibi
l
ityrestr
icti
ons.Pr ovinces
general
lyrequir
efil
i
ngacl ai
m withi
noney earofthecri
me,butdoal l
ow anext ension
peri
odwher edeemedappropriat
e.Amaj or
it
yoftheprovi
ncerequir
erepor t
ingthecr i
me
tothepol icewithi
nar easonabletimeift heappli
cantisto beel igi
bleforv icti
m
compensat i
on.

A complet
ev ict
im cooper
ati
onwi t
hthepol i
ce.Noneoftheprovi
ncesdeny
compensati
onbecausethevict
imisarel
ati
veorassoci
ateoft
heof
fender
.
PAYMENTS

AllCanadianprovincecompensat ev i
cti
msf orthedirectcostofphy sicali
njur
y,
funeralex penses,&wagesl ostduet odisabi
li
tyorthevicti
msdeat h.ExceptforQuebec
&Br i
tishCol umbia,thepr ov
inceprovidepain-
and-suf
feringpayment s&hav eagener al
categor yforotheri
ncidentalexpenses.

Allprovi
ncesconsiderot
hersour
cesofcompensat
ionli
keinsur
anceet
c.,when
det
erminingthesizeoftheawardandthatsum i
ssubtr
actedfr
om thecompensat
ion
award.

Thepr
ocedur
eli
mit
sremunerati
ontotheact
ualamountneededt
oremedyhar
m
andpr
event
sanyatt
emptbytheappl
icantt
ogainaprof
it
.

Thisbr
iefrevi
ewofv i
cti
m compensationl
awsindi
catesthereisahighdegreeof
uni
for
mityamongCanadi anj ur
isdi
cti
ons.Compensableacts,eli
gibi
li
tyrequi
rement
s,
cl
aimfil
ingandpr ocessi
ng,andcondi t
ionsofpaymentsaresubst anti
all
ythesame
acr
ossjuri
sdi
cti
ons.

Vi
cti
m Wi
tnessAssi
stancePr
ogr
ammes
I
ntr
oduct
ion

Vi
cti
m Wi t
nessAssi stancePr ogram (
VWAP)servicesareprovi
dedonaprior
it
y
basi stothemostv ulnerabl
ev icti
msandwi t
nessesofvi
olentcri
me,suchasdomesti
c
violence,chil
d abuse,sexualassaul t
,homi ci
deand hatecrime.Famili
esoftraf
fi
c
fatali
tyv i
cti
msar eal soel i
gible.Servi
cesbeginoncepol i
cehav elai
dchargesand
cont i
nueuntilt
hecour tcaseisov er.

VWAP'
spr
imar
ygoal
sar
eto:

• enhancev
ict
im/
wit
nessunder
standi
ngof
,andpar
ti
cipat
ion

i
n,t
hecr
imi
nal
cour
tpr
ocess;

• assi
stt
hev
ict
im/
wit
nesst
oregai
nasenseofwel
l
-bei
ng;
and

• ensur
ecoor
dinat
ionofser
viceswi
thcommuni
tyagenci
est
hat

suppor
tvi
cti
msofcr
ime.

Democracypre-supposessel f
-hel
p.Thisist r
ueofev eryaspectoflif
ei na
democr at
icsociet
y.Themor einit
iati
ve& socialconsci
ousnessapeopl ehave,the
great
erwillbethei
rcapacit
ytoinf
luencedeci
sionmakingatthehighestl
evel
s.

Whenacr
imei
srepor
tedt
othepol
i
ce&i
sregi
ster
ed,t
hepr
eoccupat
ionoft
he
policeistomeett herequi
rementsoft hel
awont hesubject,totakethecasetocourt
wher everpossibl
eandt obringtheoff
endertobook.Theper sonaltr
aumat
icaspectsof
thecr i
measf arast hev i
cti
m orhisnext-
of-
kini
sconcer nedhar dl
ygetanyattent
ion
from thef i
rstfuncti
onaryofthecriminalj
ust
icesystem withwhom t hevi
cti
m comes
i
nt ocontact.

Anotheraspectoft he functi
oning oft he cr
iminaljusti
ce syst
em i sthe
unwill
i
ngnessoft hepeopletogetinvolvedaswi tnessesincourtsoflaw.I
tiscommon
placetoseet hepersonswhoar eey e-
wi t
nessest oacrimet ur
ningaway&l eavi
ngthe
placeofoccur r
enceinordertomakesur et hattheyarenotdr aggedinaswi t
nesses.
Thepr ocedure&t helaw ofev
idencedemandt hatthewitnessesshouldbewi l
li
ngto
speakoutwhatt heyhaveseenorwhatt heyhav eheard.

Inordert omeett hesegapsi nthef uncti

oningofthecr i
minaljusticesystem and
tor ouse&gal vani
zepubl icconscience,victi
m witnessassistancepr ogrammeshav e
takenconcr eteshapei nt heUnitedStatesandot herWest ernCount r
ies.Theyf uncti
on
atthel ocalandSt atelevels.Theysupplementt hedispensati
onofj usticebysat i
sfyi
ng
theper sonal,t
raumat i
c,&soci alneedsoft hev i
cti
msofcr i
meandt hewi tnesses&by
mot ivatingthepeopl etocooper at
ewi tht helaw-enfor
cementagenci es.TheVWAP
under taketoper formthef oll
owingservies:

a)Toenl
ightentheci
tizenont
hel
awont
hesubj
ectofanypar
ti
cul
arcr
imeandt
he
av
ail
ableserv
ices;

b)Tohel
pov
ercomet
hedi
ff
icul
ti
escausedbyt
hei
gnor
anceoft
hel
anguages;

c)Toadvisethev
ict
imsonmostoft
hepr
obl
ems&t
ryt
oal
l
evi
ateasmanyoft
hem
aspossibl
e;

d)Topr
ovi
det
hebasi
cinf
ormat
iononhowt
hesy
stem wor
ks:

-whet
hert
hecour
twi
l
ltakeupapar
ti
cul
arcaseatt
he appoi
ntedt
ime;

-whet
hert
her
ewi
l
lbeadj
our
nment
;

-i
fthevict
imi
semploy
ed,
howt
ogetl
eav
eandhowt
omi
nimi
ze t
hel
ossofpay
f
orabsencefr
om wor
k;

-howt
opr
epar
efort
hecase;

-howt
ofi
l
lupt
hef
orms;
andhowt
ocl
aim compensat
ion;

-howt
omeett
hesubsequentpr
obl
emsofadj
ust
menti
nli
fe,
andsoon.

Anotheri
mportantfuncti
onper
formedbytheseagenciesisthatt
heyarr
angefor
thepr
otect
ionofthewitnesseswhoareindangerofbeingvict
imizedbytheof
fender
s.
Thisi
sdoneincloseco-operat
ionwi
ththepol
i
ceandt heprosecut
or’sof
fi
ce.

Whenthet
rai
lsofcr
iminalcasesgetprol
onged,indi
ff
erenceonthepar
toft
he
v
ict
imsandt
hewi
tnessnat
ural
lyfol
lows.Vi
cti
m WitnessAssist
anceProgr
ammeshel
p
br
ingsuchcasest
oaconcl
usi
onbyar
rangi
ngmedi
ati
on.

Theydealwi
threst
it
uti
onwhichmeansf inanci
alreimbursementorservi
cetot
he
community.Whil
e compensati
ng the v
icti
m,r esti
tut
ion bri
ngs sati
sfact
ion t
othe
off
enderbyal
lowi
ngtheemployert
opayhi sdebttothev i
cti
m andthesociet
y.

TheVicti
m WitnessAssi
stanceProgrammeshav ebeenr esponsi
bleforreducing
thenumberofadj ournmentsi
nEur opeandt heUnitedStates.Theyprovidesupportfor
thewitnessesandthev i
cti
msduringcourtproceedi
ngs.Themanagementofwi tnesses
i
ncludesact i
ont opreventunnecessar
yappear ance,li
aisonwi ththepol i
ceandt he
prosecuti
ngagencies.Thei
rworkhascont r
ibutedtobett
erwi tnessappearanceincourt
cases.

Fearofint
imidat
ionbyt heoff
enderorhisfr
iendsisanimport
antreasonf orthe
non-appearanceofwi t
nessesi ncourt
si nAmer i
ca.TheVi cti
m WitnessAssi st
ance
Programmeshel pident
ifysuchcasesandarrangeforthepr
otect
ionofthewitnesses.

Rest
it
uti
on
Resti
tutioni
stheter
m appl
i
edwhent heof
fendermakesamendstohi
svict
imi
n
acr
imi
naloffencebypay
ingasum ofmoneyorbyservi
ce.I
tsbenef
it
sar
etwof
old

-Theof
fenderi
smademor
eresponsi
blef
ort
hecr
imeandt
he

v
ict
imr
ecei
vesat
tent
ionandbenef
itdi
rect
lyf
rom t
heof
fender
.

-I
tgi
vesanoppor
tuni
tyt
obot
hthev
ict
im andt
heof
fendert
ofeel

t
hatawr
ongi
sbei
ngr
ight
ed.

Whenrest
itut
ioninvol
vesser
vicet
othecommuni
ty,t
hewhol
esoci
etyr
ecei
ves
r
epar
ati
onfrom t
heof f
ender.

Al
lsegment
soft hepopul ati
onint heUnit
edStatesstronglysupportrest
it
uti
on
asamethodofcrimepr event
ion,butthepolicehav
et heirownr eserv
ati
onsabouti t
s
ut
il
it
y.Many Stat
es int he U.S.A.hav e enact
ed legi
slat
ion int hi
sr espect.The
pr
ogrammesareport
rayedasear nestat
temptsatmeet i
ngtheneedsoft hev ict
imsof
cr
ime.

Resti
tuti
onisaposi t
ivemeasur eandpart
icular
lyappropr
iat
eforuseinr espect
ofjuv
enil
eof f
enders.Ittr
acesi t
sorigintotheMi ddl
eAgesandi smor epenalt han
compensati
onpaidbyt heSt at
esinceitdoesnotmer el
yoffsetthevi
cti
m’slossesbut
makestheoffenderpayforthem.

Ther at
ionalefortheresti
tuti
onprogr
ammei st hattheoff
enderismadet o
r
ecognizehisr esponsi
bil
i
tytothev i
cti
m,itmai
ntai
nsthedigni
tyoft
heof f
enderunli
ke
i
mprisonment ,itsavesthesocietyandt heoff
enderfrom thedel
eter
iouseffectof
i
ncar
cer at
ion,and,aboveall
,i
tcontri
butest
oasenseofjusti
ce.
 Thepr oponentsofresti
tutionarguet
hatithelpsr ef
ocust hei
mageofcr i
minali
ty.
Inthi
scont ext,twotypesofr esti
tuti
onaresuggest ed– t hePunitiveandt hePur e.
Punit
iver esti
tuti
onisamer esuppl ementtotheot herpunishmentt hatisimposed.I t
wouldcomef r
om theoffender’
sownwor keit
herinpr isonoroutofi torfrom afi
neby
thecourt.Thus, i
twil
lnecessari
lyhav etobegovernednotbyt hequantum ofharm done
bytheof fenderbutbyhi scapaci tytopay.Pur er esti
tut
ion,ont heot herhand,i s
commensur atewitht
heact ualdamagescausedbyt hecr i
minalact.

Rest i
tut
ionissai dtohav easpecialadvantagewhenusedagai nstwhit
e-col
l
ar
cri
minals.I
timpr ovescri
me-report
ingandhelpsinrehabi
li
tat
ion.I
fitf
uncti
onsproper
ly,
i
tgivest heoffenderanoppor tuni
tytoshort
ent helengt
hofhi sownconf i
nement,f
or
theharderhewor ks,thefast
erhecanmakegoodt herest
it
uti
onpay ment.

Communi t
yser
viceasaf orm ofrest i
tut
ionrepresentsasentenci
ngalternati
ve
fortheof f
ender
swhoar enotdanger ous,sinceithelpst hem perf
orm workwhi chis
usefultothecommunit
yandt othemsel ves.IntheUnitedKingdom,thetheor
yt hatthe
peoplewhohav ecommi t
tedminoroffenceswoul dbebet teroccupi
eddoingserviceto
thei
rfell
ow-ci
ti
zenst
haninacrowdedj ail
hasgai nedground.

Thepract
icalimpedi
mentsinworki
ngtherest
it
uti
onpr
ogrammeswil
lbeamong
thecri
ter
iawhichwoul denablethei
rbeingjudgedaseff
ecti
veal
ter
nat
ivetoot
her
puni
shmentsinsentenci
ngpol
icy.

Fi
rstofal
l
,theyar
eti
me-
consumi
ng.

Secondl
y,al
ackofsui
tabl
ety
pesofwor
kforj
uveni
l
esi
s seen.

Thir
dly
,manyof
fender
slackt
heear
ningabi
l
ityt
omaket
he r
est
it
uti
on
adequat
e.

Four
thl
y,of
tent
imest
hev
ict
im suspect
sthesoundnessof t
hepr
ogr
ammes

SeveralSt
atesintheU.S.
A.areconsider
ingorhav ealr
eadyenactedl
egi
slat
ion
bri
ngi
ngintooperati
onamechanism bywhichtheof f
endercancompensatet
hev i
cti
m
fort
helosscausedbyhiscri
me.Theregul
ati
onfallunderthr
eecategor
ies:

a)Rest
it
uti
onasacomponenti
nthenor
mal
sent
enci
ngofadul
tof
fender
s.

b)Rest
it
uti
onasaspeci
fi
ccondi
ti
onofdeal
i
ngwi
thj
uveni
l
eof
fender
s,and

c)Rest
it
uti
onasagoal
tobeachi
evedt
hroughspeci
alpr
ogr
ammesadmi
nist
ered.

Theprogrammesgener
all
ydiscouragesanyr
elat
ionshi
pbet
weent
hev
ict
imsand
t
heof
fenderdur
ingt
heperi
odofresti
tut
ion.

Uni
t-V
Vi
cti
mol
ogy
 I
ndi
anExper
ience
I
ntr
oduct
ion

Lawlaysdownprocedur
efordeali
ngwi t
hcrime.TheIndi
anPenalCode,Speci
al
andLocalLaws,t
heCodeofCr i
minalProcedureandtheIndi
anEvi
denceActar eint
er
al
iai
nstr
umentsdevi
sedbylawtosub-ser
veitpurpose.

ThoughSecti
on357oft heCodeofCr i
minalProcedur
eandSect i
on5ofthe
Pr
obati
onofOf f
endersActar
epowerfuldev
icesmeantt oensurejust
icet
ovi
cti
msof
cr
imestheyhav ebeenmostlyremai
ningintheSt at
ueBookwi t
hnobenefi
ttothe
vi
cti
msofcrimes.

Cri
mei sont heincreaseallovertheworld.I
ndiaisnoexceptiontot hi
suniver
sal
tr
end.Itmeanst hatlar
gerandl argersegmentsofpeoplearev i
cti
mized,exposedtorisk,
anxiet
y,gri
ef,t
raumaanddespai r.Thepercept
ionofthatsuffer
ingsegmentofhumani t
y
i
st hattheCri
mi nalJusti
ceSy stem iscall
ousl
yimpersonal.Thi
sisani ndictmentofthe
system bythecommonman.

Urbanandi ndustr
ialcomplexesattractpeoplefrom ruralpart
sinDev el
oping
Countr
iesinsearchofbet t
eremploymentandeducat ionalopportuni
ti
esandther ural
fol
k carr
y witht hem habi ts whi
ch vi
olatet r
affi
c disci
pli
ne and find t
hemselves
becominginadv
ertentvict
imsoft hebusyt
r aff
icmovementi ncit
ies.

Thestudyindi
cat
edt hattheoper
ationofthepr
ov i
sionsofthirdpar
tyinsurance
undertheMot orVehi
clesActl eftmucht obedesired,thepr ocedur
alrequir
ement
mandatedbylaw wasf oundt obelong-drawnandcumber someandr el
iefistotall
y
deni
edtothevict
imsorthei
rnextofkini
nhi tandr
uncases.

Thestudiesment i
onedarebutpilotprojectsandi ndicat
orsofat remendous
amountofwor kt hatremainstobedonei nanar eawhi chisofv i
talconcerntothe
ci
tizen.Hencethei mperati
verai
sondeterforthest udyofv i
cti
mologywithoutwhi
chit
i
si mpossibletor ect
if
yt heexi
sti
ng horrendousi mbalancei ntheCriminalJusti
ce
System’swayoff uncti
oning.

LegalFr
amewor
k

InIndiathereisnospeciallegisl
ativ
eenactmentf orpay mentofcompensat i
ont o
vict
imsofcr i
mebutunderSect ion357oft heCodeofCr i
mi nalProcedur eCour t
sofl aw
areempower edt opaycompensat i
ont ov ict
imsofCr ime.I tsayst hat“ t
hecour tmay
whenhandingdownt hejudgment ,orderthewholeoranypar toft hefiner ecovered…i n
thepaymentofcompensat i
ontoanyper sonforthelossori njur
ycausedbyt heof f
ence
whensubstantialcompensationisrecov er
ablebysuchper soninaCi vilCour t
;whenany
person i
s conv i
cted ofan of fence ofmur derorabet mentofmur deri n pay i
ng
compensationtot hepersonwhoar e,undertheFatalAcci dentsAct,ent i
tl
edt orecov er
damagesf r
om t hepersonsentenced;andwhenanyper soni sconvictedofanof f
ence
i
ncludi
ngtheft,cri
minalmisappropriati
on,breachoftrust
, cheati
nget c.
 UnderSection359ofCr.P.
C.whenanycompl ai
ntofanon-cogni
zabl
eoffenceis
madet oacourt,thecourtmay,onconvict
ionoftheaccused,or
derhi
mt opayt othe
complai
nant,in whol
e orin part
,the costincur
red byhim intheprosecuti
on,in
addi
ti
onaltothepenalt
yimposedonhim.

UnderSecti
on5oftheProbat
ionofOf
fender
sAct,1958,theoffendermaybe
r
equi
redonreleaseonpr
obat
iont
opaycompensat
iontot
hevict
im ofhi
scr i
m.

UnderSect
ion110(B)oft heIndi
anMot orVehi
clesAct,1939pr
ovi
desf
ort
he
awar
dofcompensationt
ot hei
njuredornext
-of
-ki
nofthedeceased.

Thereasonsf
orthei
nadequacyoftheconv
enti
onalCri
minall
awthewor
ldov
er
i
nprovidi
ngadequat
erecompensetovict
imsofcrimi
nali
tyarethesameandcanbe
l
i
stedasfoll
ows:

1.Manyv
ict
im donotbot
hert
ocompl
aint
othepol
icebecauseof
-

a)t
hepopul
ari
mpr
essi
onoft
hef
uti
l
ityofcompl
aini
ng

b)therepeat
edquest
ioni
ngoft
hecompl
ainantandwi
tnesses,i
fthecasei
stobe
chargesheet
ed.

c)t
her
igor
ousofv
exat
iouscr
oss-
exami
nat
ioni
ntheCour
t

d)unnecessar
yadj
our
nment
s

e)f
earofv
engeancef
rom t
heof
fender

2.Fai
l
ureoft
hei
nvest
igat
ingagenci
est
oar
restof
fender

3.Fai
l
ureoft
heVi
cti
mtoi
dent
if
ytheof
fender

4.Uncer
tai
ntyofconv
ict
ionoft
heof
fenderi
ncour
t

5.Exi
guousf
inanci
alposi
ti
onoft
heof
fender

Sot
het
houghthasbeengai
ninggr
oundt
hat:

a)Soci
etyshoul
dov
ercomei
tsi
ndi
ff
erencet
owar
dsv
ict
imsofcr
ime,

b)Thef ai
l
ureoft
heCr
imi
nalJust
iceSy
stem t
oawar
dcompensat
iont
ovi
cti
m shoul
d
berecogni
zed.

c)Emphasi
sonthetheor
yofcompensat
ion&r
est
it
uti
oni
sver
ymuchneededi
nthe
i
nter
est
sofequal
i
ty&soci
alsol
i
dar
it
y.

d)Soci
aldefencewil
lbecomemor
emeani
ngf
ulonl
yundert
her
ecogni
ti
onoft
he
i
nter
est
softhevict
im.
e)Addit
ionalf
inanci
alout
layonpol
i
cingwi
l
lnotj
ust
if
ynegl
ectoft
hesuf
fer
erf
orwhom
thesy
stem hascomet oexist
.

f
)Cr
imev
ict
imi
zat
ionsur
vey
sshoul
dbeor
gani
zedi
nal
lpar
tsoft
hecount
ry.

e)Cr
imi
nal
just
icepol
i
cyshoul
dbef
ormul
atedont
hebedr
ockofsuchsur
vey
s.

h)Itisnecessar
yt orecogni
zei nthet
endencyt
or epor
tcr
imel
essandl
esst
he
i
nadequacyof
,andlackofthepeopl
e’
sfai
thi
nthesy
stem.

i
)Vi
cti
m-wi
tnessassi
stancepr
ogr
ammesshoul
dbewi
del
yor
gani
zed.

j
)Vol
unt
aryagenci
esshoul
dbeencour
agedandhel
pedi
nthef
iel
dtobegi
nwi
th.

k)Specialemphasi
sshoul
d bel
aid onhel
ping v
ict
imsoft
err
ori
sm and cust
odi
al
vi
olence.

Rol
eofCour
ts

I
ntr
oduct
ion

Legisl
ati
onconf err
edj uri
sdi
cti
onont hecr i
minalcourt
sundersect i
on357(3)of
theCodeofCr iminalProcedure,1973forawar di
ngunli
mi t
edamountofcompensat ion
tothev i
cti
msatt het i
meofpassi ngjudgmentofconv i
ction.Thisprovi
sioni
snot
anci
ll
arytootherprovi
sionsofCr i
minalProcedureCode,butinaddit
ionther
eto.

Bythelandmarkjudgmenti nHar iKisan’

scaseAI R1988SC2127Supr emeCour t
notonl yawar dedcompensationofRs. 50,000/-tothev ict
im,butalsodi rect
edt he
subordinat
ecr imi
nalcourtstoexer cisethepowerofawar dingcompensationtot he
victi
msofof fencesinsuchal iberalwayt hatthevict
imsmaynothav etor ushtot he
civi
lcourtsforcompensationtot hev i
cti
ms.Unf or
tunately
,thesubordi
natejudici
aryis
rarel
yinvoki
ngt hi
sprovi
siontoawar dcompensat i
ontot hevicti
ms,wheretheaccused
personsareacquitt
edofthechar geonbenef i
tofdoubtoronanyt echni
cal
it
iesoflaws.

TheStat
eisunderdutytoprotectthelif
e,li
bertyandsecur i
tyofitscit
izens,i
tis
boundt opaycompensati
ont ot
hev i
cti
msofcr i
mei rr
especti
v eofwhethertheaccused
i
sconv ict
edoracquit
tedofthecri
minalcharge.Ast hegov ernmentisindif
ferenttothe
cryi
ngneedoft hevi
cti
ms,theapexcour tdir
ectedtheGov ernmentt osetupaCr i
minal
Inj
uri
esCompensat i
onBoar d,underthesuper vi
sionofcr iminalcourtsforawar ding
compensat i
ontovicti
msofal lcrimesi ncl
udingr apeordacoi ty,inadditi
ont ot he
dir
ecti
ons given t
o Nati
onalCommi ssi
on forwomen t
o ev
olv
e a pr
oposalf
or
rehabi
l
itat
ionandcompensat
oryj
ust
icetorapevi
cti
ms.

Paymentofcompensationt
ot hevi
ctimsofcrimeforanyi
njur
ycausedt ohi
m
hasnotbeeninst
it
uti
onal
izedundertheIndianPenalLaws.Noranylegalr
ighttobe
compensat
edhasbeencreatedinf
avourofthevi
cti
m.

Thel egi
slat
ivev acuum ofal egalri
ghtt omonet arycompensationforvi
olat
ionof
humanr i
ght shasbeensuppl ement edbyt hehigherjudici
arybydev el
opingapar al
lel
consti
tutionalremedy .TheSupr emeCour tforthefir
stt i
mei nRudalShahv .Stateof
Bihar
,AI R1983SC1086 madei tcategorical
lyclearthatthehigherjudi
ciar
yhast he
powert oawar dcompensat i
onf orv i
olat
ionoff undament alri
ght
st hr
ought heexerci
se
ofwritjurisdi
cti
onandev ol
vedt heprincipleofcompensat or
yjusti
ceint heannalsof
humanr ightsjuri
sprudence.

nOr
I aonv .Stat
eofBi hart
heSupr emeCourtdi
rectStateofBihartopaythesum
ofRs.15,
000/ -ascompensat iont
oBhamaOr aonwhowasi l
legall
ydetai
nedfor6years
andkepti nment alhospitalwhenhewasnoti nsame.I nSebast ai
nv .Uni
onofIndia
AIR1984SC1826,onaccountoff ai
lureofGovernmentt opr oduceinhabeascorpus
peti
ti
onf i
ledbywi ves,apexcourtawardedcostofRs.1l actobegi ventowifeofeach
ofdetenne.

Compensat
iont
oRapeVi
cti
ms

Ri
ghtoft herapevict
imt orecei
vecompensationflowsf rom Ar
t.21oft he
consti
tut
ion.Everycour
thasjuri
sdi
cti
ontogr antcompensationnotonlyatthefinal
stageoftri
albutal
sotoawardint
eri
m compensati
onatanyinterl
ocutor
yst
ageoftr
ial.

TheSupremeCour ncaseofDel
ti hiDomest icWorki
ngWomen’ sForum v.Union
ofIndi
a,AIR1996SC922,i ndi
catedaschemet oawardcompensat i
ont orapev i
cti
m
bothattheti
meoft r
iali
.e.
,int
erim compensat iontorapevicti
m andatt heendoft he
tr
ial
.TheSupremeCourtsuggestedtheest abli
shmentofcri
mi nali
njur
iescompensation
BoardunderArt
.38(
1)oftheConst i
tuti
onofI ndia.

InD. K.Basuv .St

ateofWestBengal(1997)ISCCP- 4,thel
andmarkjudgment
SupremeCour thasl ai
d down numberofgui del
i
nest o prev
entcust
odialviol
ence
i
ncludi
ngr ape,andhasr ecogni
zedthatcustodi
alrapecouldbecompensatedast he
samev iol
atedRi ghttolif
eandper sonall
ibert
yguarant
eedunderAr t
icl
e21oft he
Consti
tuti
on.

nBodhi
I Satt
raGoutham v.Subhr
aChakr abort
hytheHon’ bl
eApexCour thashel
d
t
hatthecourtofsessionhaveev er
yauthori
tytoawar dinteri
m compensationifpr
ime
f
aci
e case againstthe accused has been establ
ished thata person had sexual
rel
ati
onshipwit
ht heprosecut
ri
xonfalseassuranceofmarr
iage.SupremeCourthas
dir
ected t
he guil
typerson to payRs.1000/
-pm as int
eri
m compensat i
on tothe
prosecut
ri
xduri
ngpendencyofcase.Thisjudgmentisapr
ecedentforgrant
ingi
nter
im
compensationt
otherapev i
cti
ms.

ncaseofSt
I ateofMaharashtr
av .MadhukarN.Mar dikar(
1991)ISCC 57
Supr
emecour thel
dthatev
enaprosti
tut
ehasar i
ghttopr
ivacyandnopersoncanr
ape
herj
ustbecausesheisawomanofeasyv i
rt
ue.

Thei
rexi
stpl
ethor
aofcaseswherethecompensationhasbeenawardedbyt
he
Supr
emeCour ttothev i
cti
msoft hecri
mewhi ch notonlypresenttheheartf
ull
momentsbutalsoexposedthesorr
ystat
eofaf f
air
st hathasbeenpreval
entint
he
l
owercourt
sevensometimesHighCour
ts.

I
tisbet
tert
oexami
necasesundert
woheadsi
.e.

(
i) underCr
.P.
C.andP.
O.A.and

(
ii
) underI
ndi
anConst
it
uti
oni
nor
dert
oappr
eci
atet
hej
udi
cialst
andpoi
ntont
his
i
ssue.

(
a)UnderCr
.P.
C.orP.
O.A:

Thefir
stcasei nthel
ine,
whichatt
ract
edthemi ndofthecour tcamewaybacki n
1952wheret heHon' bleCourtconnect
edgener alpri
ncipl
eofsent enci
ngi.e.whil
e
passi
ngasent encethecourtmustbearinmindthepr oposnali
tybetweenoffenceand
penal
tywit
hgr anti
ngofcompensationandobservedthatwhileimposingthefinecour
t
mustconsi
dergr avi
tyofoff
enceandthepecuni
aryconditi
onoftheof f
ender.

I
nthecaseofPr abhuPrasadShav .StateofBi harwheretheHon'bleCourtnot
onlyuphol
dt heconv
icti
onof15y ear
soldboy( actuall
yatt heti
meofcommi ssi
onof
cri
met heaccusewasof15Yr s)butalsoobserv
edt hatalthoughr
equir
ement sofsocial
j
usticedemandstheimposit
ionofheav yf
inebuttakingintoconsi
derat
ionthecondit
ion
oftheaccusedawar dedf i
neofRs3000t obepai dbyhi mtothechi l
drenoft he
deceased.

I hercaseofPal
nanot ani
appaGoundervSat eofTamilNaduSupr
emeCourt
f
oll
owingthesamev i
ewasofearli
ernotonl
yreducedtheamountoff
inei
mposedby
t
heHighCourtfr
om Rs.20,
000toRs.3,
000.

NextlandmarkcaseofSarwanSi ngvStat
eofPunjabwheresupremecourtnot
onl
yretr
eatedit'
sprevi
ousstandpointbutalsol
aiddown,inexhaust
ivemanner
,that
whatal
lshouldbetakenint
oaccountwhilei
mposi
ngfineorcompensat
ion.
 Thenextimport
antcaseisofBhuper
ndarSinghvSt at
eofM. P.whi
chwasout
comeofquarrel
bet
weencol l
egest
udent
swheretheHon'bl
eCour tal
thoughal
lowedthe
compoundi
ng ofoffence butdi
d notfor
getthe cause ofv i
cti
m and granted t
he
compensat
ionofRs3000.

I
nthecaseofBalr
ajSinghvSt at
eofU.P.st
atedthesamepoi
ntasdi
scussed
abov
ebutinmostappr
opri
atewor dbysayi
ngt
hatthepowertoaawar
dcompensat
ion
i
snotanci
l
lar
ytotheot
hersentencebuti
naddi
ti
ontheret
o.

(
b)UnderI
ndi
anConst
it
uti
on:

Thepr i
ncipleofpay mentofcompensat i
ontothevicti
m ofcri
mewasev olv
edby
Hon'
bleS.C.ont hegroundt hatiti
sdutyofthewelf
arestatetoprot
ectthefundamental
r
ight
soft hecit
izensnotonl yagainsttheact
ionsofi
tsagenciesbutisalsoresponsi
ble
f
orhardshipsont hev i
cti
msont hegroundsofhumanit
ari
anism andobl
igati
onofsocial
welf
are,
dut yt
opr otectit
'ssubject
,equit
abl
eJusti
ceetc.

Iti
st obenot edthatcompensat ionbyt heStatefortheacti
onofi t'
soffi
cialwas
evol
vedbytheHon' bleCour tagainstthedoctri
neofEngl ishl
aw:"KingcandonoWr ong"
andclearl
yst atedi nthecaseofNi l
abatiBehravSt ateofOr i
ssa thatdoctrineof
sover
eignimmuni tyisonlyapplicableinthecaseoft ort
uousactofgov ernmentser vant
andnotwher ethereisviolati
onoff undament alri
ghtsandhencei nawayst at
edt hatin
cri
minalmattersthisdoctr
ineisnotappl icabl
e.

RudalShahvSt at
eofBiharisthemostcelebr
atedcasewheretheHon'
bleS.
C.
dir
ectedt hest
atet
opaycompensat ionofRs35,
000toRudalShahwhowaskepti nj
ail
for14y earsev
enafterhi
sacqui
ttalonthegr
oundofinsani
tyandhel
dthati
tisv
iol
ati
on
ofArt
icle21donebyt heStat
eofBihar.

ThecaseofMej aSi nghvSHOPol iceSt ati

onZi r
ai sanot herunfort
unatecase
wher et hist i
me Hi gh Cour tofP&H t ook t he cause ofv ictim and awar ded the
compensat i
onofRs25, 000f ori l
l
egal det entionofsonoft hepet it
ioner
.Thistimeitwas
HighCour tBombay ,whi cht ookt hecauseoft hev i
cti
mi nthecaseofRav i
kantPatilv
DGPol ice,St at
eofMahar astra,wheret hepet i
ti
onerwast akenhandcuf f
edt ocourtis
clearv i
ol ati
onofJudgmentofHon' bl
eS. C.,thatislaw,asdeci dedi nthecaseofPr em
ShankerShukl avDel hiAdmi ni st
rati
on.Cust odialDeathisanot herburningissuewher e
thecour tshav eawardedcompensat i
ont ot hev i
cti
msofcr imeandt hemosti mpor t
ant
caseundert hi
sheadi ngi sofMr s.Car di
novUOIwher eal t
hought heaccusedwas
arrestedont hechar geofmi sappropriationofsomepl ast
icwar eandhospitalutensil
s
wor thRs1500butt orturedl ikehar dcor ecr i
mi nalandhencehesuccumbedt ot he
torture.Her ewhent hemat t
erwasbr oughtbef oretheHon' bl
eHi ghCourtofBombay
whi chgav ethecompensat ionofRs2, 00,000t obepaidbyt hest ate.
 ThecaseofBhi m Si
nghvStateofJ&Ki sanotherimport
antcasewher eBhim
Si
nghanMLAwasar rest
edbythepoli
ceonl
ytopreventhimtoattendedtheLegi
slat
ive
Assembl y
,theHon'bl
eCourtnotonlyent
ert
ainedthewr i
tpeti
ti
onofhi swif
ebutalso
awardedt hecompensati
onofRs50,
000tobepaidbyt hestat
e.

Ontheissueofbrutaluseofforceandmisuseofauthori
tybythepol
iceoutsi
de
thepol
icest
ati
on,thecaseofSAHELIvCommi ssi
onerofPoli
ceislandmarkwherethe
sonofKamleshKumar i
diedduet oil
ltr
eatmentbyaS.I
.ofDelhiPol
ice,
theHon'
bleS.
C.
dir
ect
edtheDelhiAdm.topayt hecompensati
onofRs75,000.

The nexti mportantcase is ofGudal ure Cheri

an vUOIwher e Hon'ble S.C.
foll
owi ngani nnovati
veappr oachfi
rstdi r
ectedthewhol emat t
ertobei nvesti
gat
edby
theCBIaf resh and compl eti
on ofi nvesti
gati
on di
rected theGov t.ofU. P.tof i
rst
suspendt hepol i
ceof f
ici
alsandmedi caloffi
cerswhot r
iedtosav etheaccusedbutalso
directedthest atetopaycompensat i
onofRs.2, 50,
000t othev i
cti
m ofrapeand Rs.
1,00,000tov i
ctim ofothercri
me.

Rol
eofNat
ionalHumanRi
ght
sCommi
ssi
on

I
ntr
oduct
ion

HumanRi ght
s ar ebet t
erpr otect
edatt henat ionallev elwi t
hadequat elaws,
i
ndependentj udi
ciar
yandef fectivemechani sms.Howev er,theysel dom ini
tiateaction
ont heirownexcepti npublici nterestcasesandt hei
reducat ionalroleisv eryli
mi t
ed.
Thei nter
nationalcommuni tyhasi ncreasi
nglyr ealizedtheimpor t
anceofHumanRi ghts
i
mpl ement ati
onatt heNat i
onall evelandt heUni tedNationsst ar
tedaddr essingt he
i
ssueofNat ionalHumanRi ght sInstit
uti
onsi nce1946.t heUni tedNat ionsinternati
onal
workshopon Nat i
onalInstit
ut i
ons f orPromot ionandPr otectionofHumanRi ghts
resultedindr aft
ingofgui delinest hatwer el ateradopt edbyt heUN Commi ssionon
Human Ri ghts as the “
Par i
s Pr incipl
es”in 1992 and adopt ed byt he UN Gener al
Assembl yin1993.

ThePar i
sPr i
ncipleshav ebecomet hefocalpoi
ntfordev
elopmentofNat i
onal
HumanRi ght
sCommi ssionsallovertheworl
d.Theydealwit
hthr
eeimportantar
easof
nat
ional
humanr ight
si nsti
tut
ions.Theyar
e:

Aut
onomyandr
esponsi
bil
i
ty

- Composi
ti
onandMet
hodsofoper
ati
ons,
and

- Compet
encet
oset
tl
eindi
vi
dualcompl
aint
s

TheNat
ionalHumanRi
ght
sCommi
ssi
onsar
euni
quei
ndependenti
nst
it
uti
ons
andplayasuppor ti
veandsuppl
ementaryrol
etotheexist
ingi
nsti
tut
ions.TheNational
HumanRi ghtsCommi ssi
onsdonotr epl
acetherol
eoft healr
eadyexisti
nglegaland
admini
str
at i
veframeworkinthefor
m ofcour t
s,l
egi
slati
veandexecutivebodi
esand
otheri
nst
ituti
ons.

TheNat ionalHumanRi ghtsCommi ssionofI ndi

awassetupi nIndiaundert he
ProtectionofHumanRi ghtsAct ,1993.Thet hanPr imeMi ni
sterofIndiaconv enedt he
ChiefMi ni
ster’
sConf erencei n1992t odev elopmodal i
tiesofset ti
ngupt heHuman
RightsCommi ssions.Themeet ingexaminedt hepossibilit
yofpl aci
ngconst it
uti
onal
ri
ghtsofci v
ill
iberti
eswi t
hintheambi toftheCommi ssion,includi
ngissuesofCust odial
Justice.TheSt at
egov ernment shavealsosetupSt ateHumanRi ghtsCommi ssi
ont o
dealwi thhumanr i
ghtsv i
olat
ionwi t
hintheirst at
es.Currentlyther
ear eeighteenSt ate
humanr ightscommi ssioninIndia.

Obj
ect
ives

a)Mechani
sm f
ori
mpl
ement
ati
onofHumanRi
ght
s

b)Enableto under
stand t
he r
ole and f
unct
ion oft
he Nat
ionalHuman Ri
ght
s
Commissi
on

c)Helpstolear
naboutt
hecont
ri
but
ionoftheNat
ionalHumanRi
ght
sCommi
ssi
oni
n
thepr
otect
ionandpr
omoti
onofHumanRight
s

I
mpor
tantCasesdeci
dedbyNHRC

Thefoll
owingar
esomeoft heimport
antcaseswhichhavebeent
akenupbyt
he
NHRCandcreat
edaposit
ivej
uri
sprudencet
opreventv
iol
ati
onsofhumanri
ght
s.

CaseOne–Guj
aratRi
ots
TheNat i
onalHumanRi ghtsCommi ssi
onhadt akensuomot ucognizanceof
medi
ar eport
sabouttheunear
thi
ngofamassgr av
einLunawadavil
l
ageofPanchmahal
Di
str
ictofGujar
at.TheCommissionsoughtareportf
rom t
heStat
eGover
nmentandCBI
i
nthemat ter
.

LargeScal ei nci
denceofcommunalv i
olencewer er eport edinGuj ar
atdur i
ng
February-March2002.Aboutt hr
eet housandpeopl ebelongingt omi nori
tycommuni t
y
wereki l
ledandpr opertywasdestroyed.TheGuj aratStat
egov ernmentandi t
spol i
cedid
nottakeappr opriatemeasurestopr eventvi
olenceandf ail
edt oprovidesafety,
securit
y
andjusticetot hev i
cti
msofmi nor
itycommuni t
y.TheNHRCi ni t
iatedasuo-mot oinquir
y
i
ntot heseincidentsanddi r
ect
edtheSt at
eGov ernmenttor epor tt
hemeasur estakento
rest
or epeacei nt heStateofGujarat.TheCommi ssi
onal soappr oachedtheSupr eme
Cour
tofI
ndi
aonbehal
foft
hev
ict
imsoft
heGuj
aratr
iot
s.

Caset
wo–Punj
abMassCr
emat
ions
TheNati
onalHumanRi ght
sCommi ssionawardedcompensati
onofRs.1. 75lakh
eacht othenextofki nof1051v i
ctimsoft hePunjabMassCr emationCase.The
Commi ssionfound thatthebodi esoft heseper sonswerecr emated byt heState
author
iti
esinviol
ati
onofr ulesoncremat i
onofuni dent
if
iedbodi
es.Theactamount ed
toviol
ati
onofthedignityofthedeadandhur temot i
onsandsenti
mentsoft hei
rkin,
who
wouldhav epr
eferr
edt operf
ormt hei
rlastri
tes,theCommissi
onheld.

ThePunjabGov
ernmentwasdirectedt
odeposi
tRs.18,
39,
25,
000/
-wi
thi
nthr
ee
mont
hsf ordi
sbur
sementt
othenextofkin.

Thecasei
sashocki ngincidentofgrossviolati
onofhumanr i
ghtswhereina
l
argenumberofhumanbodi eswascr ematedbyt hePunjabpolice.Thiscasewas
ref
erredtoNHRCbyt heSupremeCour t.TheCommi ssionfoundtheStateofPunjab
accountabl
eandresponsi
blefortheinfr
ingementoft heri
ghttoli
feoft hedeceased.
Againon8Mar ch2006,theCommi ssiongrant
edcompensat ioni
nrespectof38mor e
persons.

CaseThr
ee–St
arvat
ionDeat
hsi
nOr
issa
TheNHRCt ookcognizanceoft hereport
sofdeat hsofpeopleduet ost ar
vati
on
i
nKor aput,Bol
angieandKalahandidi stri
ctsofOrissa.I
tsentateam toreportaboutthe
existi
ngcondit
ions.Ital
soappoi nt
edaspeci alrapport
eurtolookafterther eli
efand
rehabil
it
ati
on work.NHRC per iodi
cal l
yr evi
ews t he measur
es taken by the state
gov er
nmenttopreventstar
vationdeat hs.

CaseFour–Encount
erDeat
hsi
nAndhr
aPr
adesh
TheAndhraPradeshCi v i
lLiber t
iesCommi tt
ee( APCLC)compl ainedt otheNHRC
aboutencounterdeat
hswher einthepol i
cewerekill
ingpeopl eonthesuspi cionofbeing
member soft hePeople’
sWarGr oup.Thepol i
cesai dthatthedeathst ookpl acewhen
armed mi l
it
antsresi
sted arrest,butt heAndhraPr adesh Civi
lLiber ti
esCommi t
tee
i
nsist
edt hatther
ewer eextra-judicialkill
i
ngsamount i
ngtounj ust
if
iedandunpr ovoked
murders.Theygav ethedet ailsof285suchi ncidents.NHRCi nquiredi ntosixcases
i
nvolvi
ngt hedeathofsevenpeopl eandf ormul
atedgui deli
nesin1997f ort hefir
stti
me
i
nIndia,detai
li
ngtheprocedur einr espectofencount erdeaths.

CaseFi
ve–Deat
hsDuet
oSi
li
cosi
s
TheNat
ionalHumanRi
ght
sCommi
ssi
onexpr
esseddeepconcer
natt
hedeat
hof
tri
balsf r
om Alir
ajpurTehsilofJhabuaDi stri
ctofMadhyaPradesh,whowor keda
l
abour ers in the quar t
z crushi
ng f actori
es of Godhra i
n Guj ar
at due t o
Sil
icosis/
sil
i
cotubercul
osi
s.TheCommi ssi
onl ear
ntaboutthi
stragedywhenitwent
throughanewsr eportcapti
oned“DeathsSt al
ksGodhr
aagain,i
nt hefor
m ofsili
con
dust”intheIndi
anExpresson19Sept ember,2007.

Asperther eport
,thesetri
balswer eexposedtosi l
icadustandnopr otect
ionwas
givent
othem attheirworkplace.Ther eportal
sosaidt hatabout200tribal
shaddi edin
thoseyear
s.Ther eportaddedt hatthosel abourerswhor et
urnedtot hei
rv i
llagein
Jhabua and died of si l
icot
uberculosisi nt heirv i
ll
ages wer e not getti
ng any
compensati
on orr et
ri
bution as they didn’thav e documentary proofofpr ocess
compensati
onclaims.

Aftergoingt
hroughther epor
t,t
heCommi ssi
ondirectedt hatthe samemaybe
forwardedt otheChiefSecretari
esofGujaratandMadhy aPradeshandal sotothe
Distr
ictCollect
orsofPanchmahalandJhabuaf orafactualrepor twit
hinfourweeks.
TheCommi ssi
onalsodispatchedat eam f
rom theInvesti
gationDi vi
sionforaspot
enquiry.