Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Saturday noted with concern that the criminal justice process has largely been built around the accused and the offence, while the victim often disappears from the process after giving a statement until the day of testimony.
Kant made the remarks while inaugurating a Victim Rights Centre (VRC) at the Bihar State Legal Services Authority (BSLSA) premises here.
Along with the VRC, the CJI launched three other facilities — a booklet documenting the centre’s work, a helpline for the transgender community and a multi-utility vehicle. “For too long, the criminal justice process has been built around the accused and the offence. “What happens to that person in the months in between is rarely anyone’s direct responsibility.
The victim walks in, gives a statement, and often disappears from the story until the day of testimony,” he said, according to a BSLSA statement. A victim frequently experiences the process itself as a second injury, arriving already wounded and then made to navigate a system that speaks a language not known to them,” he said.
“That is what coordinated victim support means, and that is what we are inaugurating today,” he added. Kant said the booklet was a practical guide to understanding the centre, its processes and the manner in which a victim can access its support, while the helpline will function on the “principle of accessibility” to serve those, like transgender communities, who have historically found the justice system difficult to approach.
