HC grants Rs 10.5 lakh damages to victim of sexual abuse by father

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has granted a Rs 10.5 lakh compensation to a woman, a victim of sexual abuse by her father when she was a minor, saying compensation is an essential part of curing justice. The victim had alleged that her father had physically and sexually abused her in 2018 when she was 17 years old. Charges were framed against the man, and when he was out on interim bail, he committed suicide in 2021 after which criminal proceedings against him were abated.

The court enhanced the compensation awarded to the victim, who was earlier granted Rs 85,000 by a trial court, and said as she has already received the previous amount, she was now entitled to a further sum of Rs 9.65 lakh.

“Thus, keeping in mind the facts and circumstances of the case and the legal framework within which it is to be decided, the Delhi State Legal Services Authority (DSLSA) is hereby directed to disburse and pay further compensation in the sum of Rs 9.65 lakh to the petitioner forthwith,” Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri said. The court said, “Compensation to the victim is an essential part of curing justice. Compensation not only provides monetary relief but is also an act which seeks to make a person whole again so that the victim can take steps for rehabilitation and start afresh.”

The court noted that the victim impact assessment report showed that the petitioner has undergone severe mental trauma and has been subject to aggravated sexual assault at the hands of her father. Her mother, it said, was the sole breadwinner in the family, earning a paltry amount. “The petitioner had to leave her schooling in between for a year on account of mental trauma and financial distress.