Need to give legal aid to victim, accused of sexual offences:

There should be a mechanism in place under which legal aid is given to both the victim and the accused of sexual offences, the Delhi High Court said today.
A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar also asked the counsel for the Delhi government to inform it about such a mechanism.
It further suggested that when a case of sexual violence is reported to the police, they should also evolve a procedure of intimating the Delhi State Legal Service Authority (DSLSA).
"We are concerned with the protection of legal rights of the accused as well as the victim," the bench observed.

The court's suggestion came during the hearing of a plea by social worker Prashant Kumar, who has highlighted the absence of due care and a framework for appointment of personnel and volunteers at the special home for visually- impaired minor inmates.
The plea, filed through advocate Ajay Verma, has urged the court to issue order to formulate regulation for the volunteers and donors who visit the special schools.

The plea was filed in the backdrop of the arrest of 54- year-old Murray Dennis Ward, who has been remanded in judicial custody in a case of alleged sexual assault on three visually- impaired minor inmates of the National Association for the Blind (NAB) here.

Acting on which the bench had asked the DSLSA to inform it about the compensation being paid to the three victims under the victim compensation scheme and legal aid was also provided to them.
It had also sought to know whether legal aid was provided to them.
To which, the DSLSA today informed the court that the victims were paid the compensation amount.
Delhi Police's standing counsel Rahul Mehra said that the probe in the case was almost complete and the agency would be filing the charge sheet before the trial court soon. The court listed the matter for hearing on December 6.