The Karnataka high court on Wednesday asked the state government what scheme it had formulated for rehabilitating rape/ gang rape victims. The court’s query came during the hearing on a PIL seeking the court’s directions to state government to take action to ensure safety of women.
The court referred to the amendment under section 357-A IPC which requires state governments, in coordination with the central government, to prepare a scheme for providing funds for the purpose of compensation to the victim or dependents who have suffered loss or injury as a result of crime and who require rehabilitation.
The PIL was filed by MK Vijaya Kumar, an advocate, after a student was gangraped in Bangalore University campus on October 14. Kumar contended that the government showed no for the safety of the women, working women, minor girls in the state and that crimes against them were on the rise.
The petitioner also filed an application suggesting that the state government set up an exclusive rehabilitation centre for victims of rape. It should be equipped with basic necessities for victims to live in a peaceful atmosphere. It also should be provided with at least one psychiatrist and a female counsellor. The state should also provide the victims employment and minor children of the victims should be provided with free education. The petitioner further suggested that NGOs should be drafted to provide shelter to women in case rape victims were not willing to stay in the rehabilitation centre.
