Treating a minor boy as a ‘victim of crime’ as his mother had ended her life due to dowry harassment by her husband who has been sentenced to imprisonment for seven years on being found guilty of this offence, the High Court of Karnataka has ordered payment of sufficient compensation to the boy under the Victim Compensation Scheme of 2011.
Requires rehab
“The child has not only lost motherly love and affection but by virtue of confirmation conviction and sentence imposed on father, is also being deprived of fatherly love, affection and his support. The child at this stage still being a minor, now aged about 12, requires rehabilitation,” the court observed.
Justice S. Sunil Dutt Yadav passed the order while confirming the conviction and sentence of imprisonment for seven years imposed by the trial court in 2016 on boy’s father, Raju Appasab Ghend of Athani in Belagavi district.
The victim boy was an infant when his mother ended her life in May, 2013, after fed up of harassment for dowry by Raju and his parents, Appasab Siddappa Ghend and Laxmubai, who were also been convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for seven years. The boy’s mother, Lakshmi alias Seema, was married to Raju in November, 2011.
Though the trial court had recorded that the boy’s father or his parents had no sufficient means of earning for ordering them to pay compensation, the High Court noted that the boy’s father and parents were directed to deposit ₹3 lakh while suspending sentence in 2016 on the appeal filed before the High Court against the conviction.
As the High Court has now confirmed conviction and sentence imposed on the boy’s father, Justice Dutt said that ₹3 lakh deposited by the convicts would be treated as compensation ordered by the court under Section 357 of the Code of Criminal Procedure to the boy.
Legal services authority
However, stating that amount deposited is not sufficient for the boy’s education and future, the High Court directed the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) to grant a sufficient amount as compensation to the boy under the Victim Compensation scheme, framed under Section 357-A of the CrPC, in addition to the amount deposited, and keep the amount in a fixed deposit.
The DLSA has also been directed to disburse the amount needed for the boy’s education and other needs as and when required till he attains majority.
Published – November 03, 2025 08:06 pm IST
