Central Victim Compensation Fund scheme(CVCF)

Introduction

The compensation part of the rehabilitation of victims of violence including rape is governed by provision of Section 357A of the Code of Criminal Procedure which states that every State Government in co-ordination with the Central Government shall prepare a scheme for providing funds for the purpose of compensation to the victim of crime. So far 24 states and 7 UTs have formulated the Victim Compensation Scheme.

The government has introduced a Central Victim Compensation Fund (CVCF) scheme, with an initial corpus of Rs 200 crores, to enable support to victims of rape, acid attacks, human trafficking and women killed or injured in the cross border firing. Till now, there has been an absurd disparity in compensation amount paid by state governments varying from Rs 10,000 to Rs 10 lakh.

Key Objectives of Scheme

• To support and supplement the existing Victim Compensation Schemes notified by States/UT Administrations.
• To reduce disparity in quantum of compensation amount notified by different States/ UTs for victims of similar crimes.
• To encourage States/UTs to effectively implement the Victim Compensation Schemes (VCS) notified by them under the provisions of section 357A of Cr.P.C. and continue financial support to victims of various crimes especially sexual offences including rape, acid attacks, crime against children, human trafficking etc.

Eligibility for compensation

The victim or his dependent satisfying the following criteria shall be eligible for the receipt of compensation:

• He/She should not have been in receipt of any compensation for such loss or injury from any Government authorities or any other scheme of the Central / State Government, for which the applicant or his dependents shall file a declaration to that effect along with the application form.
• The loss or injury sustained by the victim or his dependents should have caused substantial loss to the income of the family making it difficult to make both ends to meet without the financial aid or which requires such expenditure beyond his means on medical treatment of such mental/physical injury to the victim
• Where the offender of the crime is untraceable or cannot be identified, but the victim is identifiable, the victim or his dependents may also apply for grant of compensation under sub- section (4) of section 357 A of the Act.

Minimum Amount of Compensation

Note: If the victim is less than 14 years of age, the compensation shall be increased by 50% over the amount specified above. m Amount of Compensation.

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Compensation for Civilian victims of cross border firing, terrorism and Maoist violence

The civilian victims of cross border firing along the border will be given a compensation of Rs 5 lakh. The compensation given to those who die due to terrorism or Maoist violence has also been increased from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 5 lakh.

Any civilian who dies anywhere in the country due to terror attack, Naxal violence, firing from across the border, shelling or IED explosion, will be given Rs 5 lakh as compensation uniformly. The amount will be given to the next of kin of the victim. An amount of Rs 5 lakh will also be given to those who receive 50 per cent or more disability or incapacitation due to the same reasons. The compensation amount will be given subject to the condition that no employment has been provided to any of the family members of the victims by the government.

Source:Ministry of Home Affairs,Government of India.