POCSO Act | Victim Compensation Can't Be Withheld For Want Of Injury Report: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court has held that compensation under the Uttar Pradesh Rani Lakshmi Bai Mahila Samman Kosh Rules, 2015 must be granted if the FIR discloses the offence under Section 4 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012. It held that merely because no injuries are stated in the injury report, such compensation cannot be denied. The bench of Justice Shekhar B. Saraf and Justice Manjive Shukla held“Under the Scheme, compensation is to be paid to the victim of penetrative sexual assault not because the victim has sustained injuries during the penetrative sexual assault, but due to the very fact of having suffered the penetrative sexual assault. Therefore, till such time, the offence is covered within the definition of penetrative sexual assault as per Section 3 of the POSCO Act, it is immaterial whether there is any injury or not and only because there is no injury that cannot be a ground to refuse compensation to such victims.”Petitioner, a victim of sexual assault under the POCSO Act, claimed compensation of Rs. 3 lakhs under the Uttar Pradesh Rani Lakshmi Bai Mahila Samman Kosh Rules, 2015. Since no compensation was paid to the petitioner, she approached the High Court through her mother. Section 3 of the POCSO Act defines 'penetrative assault' and Section 4 provides the punishment for such sexual assault. Reliance was placed on Dalip Kumar @ Dalli v. State Of Uttaranchal, where the Supreme Court held sexual assault will necessarily injuries is a myth and there would be different reactions by each victim of sexual assault. Bodily injuries may not always be present, which would not negate the sexual assault, held the Court. Noting that only FIR, Chargesheet and injury report were required to be submitted for claiming benefit under the scheme, the Court held “As long as the FIR and the charge indicate the offence under Section 4 of the POCSO Act, no further investigation is required to be carried out by the steering committee and the steering committee cannot conduct a trial and come to a contrary finding that since there is no injury indicated in the injury report, the compensation is not payable.”The Court held that the scheme is a beneficial legislation and must be read in a liberal manner. Holding that no injury was irrelevant to grant of compensation, the Court directed payment of compensation of Rs. 3 lakhs to the petitioner. Case Title: Victim X in Fir No.048 of 2025 P.s. Katra Bazar Distt. Gonda Thru.next Best Friend Her Mother Versus State of U.P. Thru. Prin. Secy. Deptt. Social Welfare Lko. and 2 othersClick Here To Read/Download Order

POCSO Act | Victim Compensation Can't Be Withheld For Want Of Injury Report: Allahabad High Court

Upasna Agrawal

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