India is drafting a scheme to compensate rape, acid attack victims

• Compensation of ₹7 lakhs to acid attack victims and ₹5 lakhs to rape victims.
• ₹5,000 will be immediately released after submission of first information report (FIR) and medical report by the victim.
  
• Compensations to be 50% higher for minors.

The National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) with consultation from the central government has drafted a relief policy offering a minimum amount of ₹500,000 for rape victims and ₹700,000 for acid attack victims. The move comes in response to a Supreme Court order that sought model rules for assisting women victims and their families.

The “compensation scheme for women victims/survivors of sexual assault/other crimes” has been prepared after the apex court’s order, in order to seek ‘model rules’ to provide assistance and support to the victim and their family members, particularly the financially weak ones who lack resources to fight legal battles.

These are the compensations to be offered by the Government:

Currently, the grant varies from state to state from a minimum of ₹10,000 in Orissa to ₹1 million in Goa.

“Victims in different states cannot be compensated differently. It makes no difference where the victim has been raped. The amount of compensation must be the same across the country,” the bench said. It also mentioned that the maximum compensation will not be capped and the state government would be at liberty to pay more to the victims, beyond the minimum amount fixed under the scheme.

According to the scheme, ₹100,000 will be given within fifteen days to an acid attack victim and ₹200,000 in the next two months. Compensations for a minor will be 50% higher than the fixed amount.

To simplify the compensation process, a victim or her family member can go to the state or legal services authority with a copy of the FIR and medical report, which would immediately release a sum of ₹5,000 to her.