The Supreme Court on Friday approved a scheme for compensation between Rs 5 lakh and 10 lakh to victims of gang-rape in any part of the country.
A bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta gave a formal nod to the scheme proposed by the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) on compensating the victims of sexual assaults and acid attacks.
As per the 'Compensation Scheme for Women Victims/Survivors of Sexual Assault/Other Crimes-2018', in case of rape and unnatural sexual assault, the victim would get a minimum of Rs 4 lakh and a maximum of Rs 7 lakh as compensation.
The court said it would be applicable pan-India and the states and union territories would be free to give compensation over and above what was stipulated in the scheme.
"We make it clear that the scheme prepared by the NALSA will not preclude the states and union territories from giving more compensation. We direct that the scheme be implemented in all states and union territories," the bench said.
The scheme says that victims of acid attacks, in case of disfigurement of face, would get a minimum compensation of Rs 7 lakh, while the upper limit would be Rs 8 lakh.
In acid attack cases, if the injury is more than 50%, a minimum compensation of Rs 5 lakh would be given, while the maximum would be Rs 8 lakh.
Similarly, the scheme also provides for compensation in cases of acid attacks where the injury is less than 50% and 20% respectively.