Page No.# 1/7 GAHC010206352023 2026:GAU-AS:10887 THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT (HIGH COURT OF ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH) Case No. : WP(C)/5595/2023 EUSHUB ALI S/O- LT. HAZRAT ALI, VILL- BALIKURI NC., P.O. KALGACHIA, P.S. KALGACHIA, DIST.- BARPETA, ASSAM, PIN- 781319 VERSUS THE STATE OF ASSAM AND 4 ORS REPRESENTED BY THE COMMISSIONER AND SECRETARY TO THE GOVT. OF ASSAM, HOME AND POLITICAL DEPARTMENT, DISPUR, GUWAHATI-06 2:THE COMMISSIONER AND SECRETARY TO THE GOVT. OF ASSAM FINANCE DEPARTMENT DISPUR GUWAHATI-06 3:THE ASSAM STATE LEGAL SERVICES AUTHORITY REPRESENTED BY ITS MEMBER SECRETARY GHY-01 4:THE DISTRICT LEGAL SERVICES AUTHORITY BARPETA REPRESENTED BY ITS SECRETARY P.O. AND P.S. AND DIST.- BARPETA ASSAM PIN- 781301 5:THE CHAIRMAN DISTRICT LEGAL SERVICES AUTHORITY BARPETA ASSAM P.O. AND P.S. AND DIST.- BARPETA ASSAM Page No.# 2/7 PIN- 78130 BEFORE HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE DEVASHIS BARUAH For the Petitioner(s) : Mr. M. Hussain, Advocate For the Respondent(s) : Mr. S. S. Roy, Government Advocate : Ms. P. Chakraborty, Standing Counsel · Date on which Judgment was reserved : N/A · Date of Pronouncement of Judgment : 05.08.2026 · Whether the pronouncement is of the Operative Part of the Judgment : Yes · Whether the full Judgment has been Pronounced : N/A JUDGMENT AND ORDER (ORAL) Heard Mr. M. Hussain, the learned counsel appearing on behalf of the Petitioner and Mr. S. S. Roy, the learned Government Advocate appearing on behalf of the Respondent No.1. I have also heard Ms. P. Chakraborty, the learned Standing counsel appearing on behalf of the Respondent Nos. 3, 4 and 5. 2. The Finance Department of the Government of Assam however is not represented in spite of their names being shown in the Cause List. 3. The Petitioner herein is aggrieved by the reduction in the ex- Page No.# 3/7 gratia amount paid to the Petitioner on the basis of the judgment dated 08.04.2022 passed in Special POCSO Case No.30/2018. 4. It is the specific case of the Petitioner that in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 357A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, the Governor of Assam had framed the Scheme for providing funds for the purpose of compensation to the victims or his/her dependents who have suffered loss or injury as a result of the crime and who requires rehabilitation. The said Scheme was called the Assam Victim Compensation Scheme, 2012 (for short the ‘Scheme of 2012’. 5. In terms with the Schedule to the said Scheme, the compensation which is payable on account of rape was Rs.75,000/-. Subsequent thereto, vide a notification dated 01.02.2019, the ex-gratia compensation which was payable earlier in respect to various injuries/loss have been enhanced and in the case of rape victim, the minimum compensation is Rs.3,00,000/- and the maximum is Rs.5,00,000/-. 6. It is the further case of the Petitioner that his daughter was raped on 02.05.2018. On the basis of the FIR so filed, a case was registered as Kalghachia P.S. Case No.347/18 under Section 4 of Page No.# 4/7 the POSCO Act. The charge-sheet was submitted before the learned Court of the Sessions Judge Barpeta and a case being Special POCSO Case No.30/2018 was registered. Vide a judgment dated 08.04.2022, the learned Court of the Additional Sessions Judge cum Special Judge, POCSO at Barpeta convicted the accused. In doing so, the learned Trial Court was of the opinion that the victim ought to be compensated and accordingly directed payment of Rs.2,00,000/- as compensation to the victim for her rehabilitation. 7. It is very relevant to take note of that on 09.08.2023, the Petitioner filed an application before the Member Secretary of the Assam State Legal Services Authority for granting compensation of Rs.5,00,000/-. In the said application, it was mentioned that though the learned Trial Court had granted Rs.2,00,000/- as compensation, but in terms with the notification dated 01.02.2019, the compensation payable would be between Rs.3,00,000/- to Rs.5,00,000/-. The said application being not considered, the Petitioner has approached this Court by filing the present writ petition. 8. It has been submitted before this Court by the learned counsels appearing on behalf of the parties that in the meantime, Page No.# 5/7 on 03.03.2025, the Petitioner had been paid an amount of Rs.2,00,000/-. This Court vide an order dated 22.06.2026, sought for instructions from the Respondents as to whether it is permissible to reduce the compensation payable to the Petitioner vide a judgment passed by the Court when there exists a notification as on the date of the judgment, thereby quantifying that the ex-gratia compensation to be payable is between Rs.3,00,000/- to Rs.5,00,000/-. 9. This Court has heard Mr. M. Hussain, the learned counsel appearing on behalf of the Petitioner and Mr. S. S. Roy, the learned Government Advocate appearing on behalf of the Respondent No.1 and Ms. P. Chakraborty, the learned counsel appearing on behalf of the Legal Services Authority. 10. This Court has also perused the judgment passed by the learned Trial Court, wherein at Paragraph No.23, the learned Trial Court was of the categorical opinion that the victim was entitled to compensation. Be it as it may, the judgment of the learned Trial Court does not mention as to on what basis the amount of Rs.2,00,000/- have been quantified that too, when at the time of passing of the judgment, the notification dated 01.02.2019 was holding the field. Page No.# 6/7 11. In view of the above, it is therefore the opinion of this Court that when there exists a statutory notification quantifying the compensation under the Assam Victim Compensation Scheme, 2012, the reduction of the compensation by the learned Trial Court without taking note of the notification dated 01.02.2019 cannot restrict the compensation which the Petitioner is otherwise entitled to on the basis of the Scheme of 2012. 12. Considering the above, the instant writ petition therefore stands disposed of with the following observations and directions: (i) The compensation which is payable to the Petitioner is to be regulated in terms with the Assam Victim Compensation Scheme, 2012 read with the notification dated 01.02.2019. (ii) The Secretary, Assam State Legal Services Authority, i.e. the Respondent No.3 is directed to assess and evaluate as to how much compensation the Petitioner would be entitled to on the extant facts, and more particularly taking note the notification dated 01.02.2019 wherein it is specifically mentioned that the compensation ranges between Rs.3,00,000/- to Rs.5,00,000/- for rape victims. On the basis of such adjudication, an Award would be passed within 60 (sixty) days from the date a certified copy of the Page No.# 7/7 present order is served upon the Respondent No.3. (iii) The Award thereupon shall be forwarded to the Respondent No.1 and the Respondent No.1 shall provide the necessary finances to the Respondent No.3 for onward disbursal to the Petitioner. (iv) The said exercise be carried out by the Respondent No.1 within 90 (ninety) days from the date the Award is forwarded by the Respondent No.3 to the Respondent No.1. JUDGE Comparing Assistant Bijoy Saha Digitally signed by Bijoy Saha Date: 2026.08.07 15:00:50 +05'30'