Abstract

Criminal Justice System in a democracy has to give equal importance to the rendering of justice to the victims as well as prevention of injustice to the suspected accused in crimes but victims of crime has been a forgotten person in the administration of criminal justice. The entire focus of the criminal justice system has been based on the offender, like to punish him or to his reformation and rehabilitation with all resources and good will available through the agencies of administration of justice, the courts and other governmental and non-governmental agencies. So long as there was no clear cut demarcation between the criminal procedure and civil procedure, the victims of the crimes were also taken care of. In India despite there being no separate laws framed to improve the status of victims of crime. One of the basic principles of the Criminal Justice System is that crimes are wrongs against the State, but probably an over-emphasis on their principle has led to a situation where we fail to see the plight of the victims. Therefore, this present article mainly seeks to give information on genesis of the victims of crime, concept and meaning, victim categories, victim rights and role of victims in the Indian Criminal Justice System.

Key word: crime, victim, rights of the victims, victims of crime, criminal justice system.

Dr. S.M. Mahendra Simha Karna

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