Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru

Bengaluru, Sep 6: The trial courts while issuing penalties need to consider if the accused has the capacity to pay the amount, a Karnataka high court division bench comprising Justice Ravi Malimath and H P Sandesh directed.

The bench in its guidelines issued to the trial courts stated, if the accused are not capable of paying the compensation, the matter has to be referred to the District Legal Services Authority to pay appropriate compensation from the corpus by the state government in terms of a notification dated February 22, 2012.

The bench also cited the Supreme Court’s dictum in Ankush and Suresh case and said the trial court judges have to make an interim order to rehabilitate the victims. The trial court judges should keep in mind the gravity of offence, nature of injuries and amount spent for treatment, when it comes to interim rehabilitation, the bench added.

The guidelines under CrPC sections 357 and 357-A-vis-à-vis imposing fine and awarding compensation need to be followed in letter and spirit, the bench told public prosecutors and directed them to request the same in the concerned trial courts.