Please - Odhikar

due to insecurity providing protection to victim and witnesses is essential to ensure justice and to
address human rights violations. Lack of evidence caused by lack of interest from victims and
witnesses to provide evidence due to lack of protection and insecurity results many perpetrators
of human rights violations go unpunished. Odhikar has been advocating for long time for a legal
regime for victim and witness protection and trying to draw the attention of government policy
maker to this issue.
Human rights activists from other South Asian countries have come here today to discuss the
scenario of victims and witnesses protection in the countries of this region and to formulate
comprehensive recommendation for the South Asian perspective.
A victim is someone who has suffered direct threat physically, emotional or financial harm as a
result of the commission of a crime. In any democratic and civilized social system victims of
offences ought to be given protection. Such protection should be given to them not as a mere
charity but as an outcome of one of their rights. Other rights of the victims may include to be
treated with dignity and respect, the right to be protected from intimidation from harm, the right
to be informed about the criminal justice process and so on.
A witness is anyone, on the other hand, who has information or evidence concerning a crime.
For proper investigation of an offence and conviction of the perpetrators of crime, the witness of
an offence should be guaranteed protection as well as given certain rights.
These may include the right to protection from intimidation and harm, the right to be informed
concerning the criminal justice process, the right to reparation etc. Unfortunately, apart from a
few provisions in specific statutes, there is no legislation guaranteeing any right to protection.
The Code of Criminal Procedure 1988, the Evidence Act of 1872, the Children's Act in 1974,
Acid Crime Control Act 2002, Women and Children repression Prevention Act 2000 (amended
in 2003) specify certain provisions to ensure victims' protection.
Under the Code of Criminal Procedure victims may file a denial -- a naraji -- petition in relation
to the final report of the police. Victims also have the right to submit evidence and to make
submission to the magistrate. A victim, however, cannot claim compensation in criminal
proceedings. A court hearing a criminal case has the discretion, however, to order compensation
when imposing a fine as a sentence or part of a sentence by relying on Section 545-1(B) of the
criminal procedure court.
Under sections 151, 152 of the Evidence Act 1872, the court has the discretion to forbid any
question which appears to it to be intended to insult or annoy, or a question, though proper,
appears to the court needlessly offensive in form. The Children's Act 1974 describes certain
rights for children. Section 12 specifically requires the certain persons should not be in court
when a child is examined as a witness. Section 17 similarly prohibits the publication of anything
disclosing the identity of a child involved in cases.
Under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act 2000 (as amended in 2003) the
victim and witness' right to trail in camera, safe custody and right to privacy, has been
recognized by the law. Section 14 puts restrictions in the matter of disclosure of the identity of
the repressed woman and child in news media. Section 9 of the Acid Crime Control Act 2002
entitles victim's compensation from the accused. Furthermore, Section 28 of the Act gives the
Tribunal absolute power to decide the necessity of custody of victims irrespective of their
consent.
Report 2005
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