Victim-Centric Criminal Justice In India: Re- Examining Participation, Discretion And Compensation Under The CRPC/BNSS Framework
T Rahima, SRM School of Law, SRMIST, Chennai
ABSTRACT
The Indian criminal justice system, predominantly adversarial and structured around the state as prosecutor, has historically treated the victim as little more than a witness, leaving crucial decisions such as the registration of the FIR, the decision to investigate, charge-framing, plea-bargaining and sentencing almost entirely to police and prosecutorial officers. This paper examines the development of victim-centric law in India, tracing statutory milestones such as the proviso to Section 24(8) and the proviso to Section 372 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) now Sections 18(8) and 413 respectively of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) the compensation scheme under Section 357A CrPC (now Section 396 BNSS), and the judicial decisions that have granted victims a right of hearing, the right to engage private counsel, and the right to appeal against acquittal or an inadequate sentence. While these reforms are framed as a shift away from a retributive, state-centred model toward a more restorative and participatory one, wide discretion continues to rest with the police, the prosecutor and the judge, which undermines victims' real agency. Drawing on statutory provisions, case law and comparative jurisprudence, the paper proposes reforms to structure discretionary power, standardise prosecutorial guidelines, and strengthen compensation mechanisms, so as to balance victim justice with the guarantee of a fair trial.
Keywords: Victim Participation; Discretionary Justice; Criminal Procedure Code; Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita; Victim Compensation; Prosecutorial Discretion; Restorative Justice; Adversarial System; Fair Trial; Sentencing.
