Petition filed for adequate financial assistance under Compensation Scheme So that victims of acid attack and burn injuries receive adequate compensation,an application seeking enhancement in the compensation proposed under the Victim Compensation scheme was filed on Saturday in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The application has been filed by Advocate H C Arora. The lawyer filed a petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking directions to Chandigarh and states of Punjab and Haryana for implementation of Victim Compensation scheme. The High Court had taken a suo motu notice of the fact that despite a provision under the law,the states have not implemented the compensation scheme for victims of crime. Pursuant to notices issued by the High Court,Punjab,Haryana and Chandigarh had come up with proposed victim compensation schemes. The petition filed by Arora reads: On perusal of the Victim Compensation Schemes framed by respondents,it comes out that either there is no provision for giving compensation to the victims of acid attack and burn injuries,or wherever some compensation is provided for the said purpose is totally inadequate. Either no provision has been made for free medical treatment of victims of acids attack or burn injuries or the maximum limits of reimbursement of expenses for medical treatment are totally inadequate. The application further reads that a perusal of the Victim Compensation Scheme framed by the Chandigarh Administration shows that there is no reference to the victims of acids attack in the Schedule-I attached with the Scheme framed by Chandigarh Administration. Referring to the proposed scheme prepared by Punjab,Arora said that the compensation offered by Punjab to burn victims is inadequate. The maximum compensation for loss of any limb or any part of body due to acid attack ranges between Rs 25,000 to Rs 1 lakh depending upon the age of the victim. Thus,a young girl whose face might have been disfigured on account of an acid attack is entitled to a maximum of Rs 1 lakh compensation. This appears to be totally inadequate,particularly in view of the fact that unlike a victim of some other offence,the victim of acid attack/burn injuries on her face suffer serious mental trauma. Thus,the compensation for victim of acid attack should not be less than the compensation provided to a rape victim,i.e. Rs 2 lakh reads the application. In the Punjab Scheme,the maximum amount for payment of medical expenses to victims of various crimes has been restricted to Rs 15,000. This amount is also totally inadequate. For the victim of acids attack/burn injuries,the respondents must provide reimbursement of actual medical expenses,including plastic surgery at the AIIMS,New Delhi or PGI rates Arora stated. Arora has requested the High Court to issue appropriate directions to the respondents directing them to appropriately amend/modify their Victim Compensation Schemes so as to include the payment of adequate amount of compensation to the victims,including additional financial assistance by way of reimbursement of expenses for medical treatment in the interest of justice. The petition is listed for resumed hearing next week.
