Heinous crime: LHC directs lower courts to order compensation for rape victims

LHC hears two appeals filed against conviction in rape cases

LAHORE: Last week, Lahore High Court (LHC) directed trial courts to ensure the provision of adequate compensation to rape victims.

Justice Anwarul Haq of the LHC said that it had been observed that trial courts were not passing orders for provision of compensation to rape and sodomy victims and were thus ignoring a mandatory provision of law.

The court was hearing an appeal filed by Safdar Ali, who had been sentenced to 25 years in prison for raping a woman.

The judge said that in relevant cases, victims of such offences could validly draw the attention of the trial courts towards the award of adequate compensation. “If no such order is passed by the trial court, the victim can invoke the provisions of the law before appellate forums for award of compensation,” he said.

Ali’s counsel told the court that his client had agreed to pay 750,000 to the rape victim. The court then reduced his jail term from 25 years to 10 years.

The second appeal had been filed by Nadeem, who had been convicted of raping a child. The rape victim had later given birth to a baby.

“I have observed with serious concern that the trial court has not passed any order under Section 544-A or Section 545 CrPC regarding awarding compensation to the victim of the offence. At the same time, he has also ignored award of compensation to the child born as a result of the offence committed by the appellant,” he said.

“Whenever a person is convicted of an offence and in the commission whereof, mental anguish or psychological damage is caused, the court shall order the convicted person to pay such compensation as it may determine,” he said.

Justice Haq upheld the 20 years jail term for Nadeem and ordered him to pay Rs1 million to the child and Rs100,000 to the rape victim.

“I am of the considered view that the baby born as a result of the crime committed by the convict will have to suffer mental anguish and psychological damage all her life. Thus, she is entitled to compensation provided under the law,” he said.

According to the prosecution, Nadeem, a resident of Sargodha, had forced his way into a neighbour’s house on August 23, 2010 and raped the girl. He threatened to kill her if she told anyone about it. He committed the offence several more times until the rape victim became pregnant.

He was arrested on October 14, 2010. During the investigation, a DNA test confirmed that Nadeem was the biological father of the fetus.

An additional district and sessions judge sentenced him to 20 years of imprisonment and fined him Rs100,000.

The defence counsel told the LHC that Nadeem had not raped the girl, but had committed consensual sex.

The prosecutor said that consent of a person under the age of 16 years fell within the definition of rape.

The judge ruled that the definition of rape clearly reflected that consent obtained through threat of death or hurt was rape. “I have noticed that at the time of recording of evidence, the trial court has mentioned the age of the victim as 14 or 15 years,” the judge said.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 10^th, 2015.