ABSTRACT
This paper critically examines the transition of the Indian criminal justice system from a traditionally State-centric prosecutorial model to an emerging victim-centric paradigm. Historically, victims occupied a marginal role, with the State assuming primary control over criminal proceedings. Through constitutional interpretation, statutory amendments, and judicial innovation, Indian law has gradually recognized victims as rights-bearing participants entitled to compensation, dignity, and procedural engagement. The paper analyses key developments, including amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure, judicial expansion of compensation jurisprudence, and the introduction of victim participation rights. It also evaluates recent legislative reforms under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, assessing their impact on victim empowerment. Despite progress, structural limitations, implementation gaps, and institutional inertia continue to constrain meaningful participation. The paper argues for a comprehensive, enforceable framework that integrates restorative justice principles to achieve substantive victim empowerment within India’s criminal justice system.
Keywords – Victim-Centric Justice, Criminal Justice System India, Victim Compensation, Restorative Justice, Procedural Rights of Victims, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita
INTRODUCTION
The Indian criminal justice system has historically been anchored in a state-centric prosecutorial model, where crimes are conceptualized as wrongs against the State rather than against individuals. This framework, inherited from colonial legal structures, places the State at the center of criminal proceedings, relegating the victim to the status of a mere witness. The victim’s role has traditionally been passive, confined to providing testimony while the State assumes full control over investigation, prosecution, and sentencing. Such a structure, while ensuring uniformity and preventing private vengeance, has often resulted in the marginalization of victims’ rights, needs, and voices.[1]
In recent decades, however, there has been a discernible shift towards a victim-centric paradigm, driven by constitutional jurisprudence, international human rights developments, and growing societal awareness of victims’ rights. This shift seeks to rebalance the criminal justice process by recognizing victims not merely as instruments of prosecution but as stakeholders entitled to dignity, participation, compensation, and restorative justice. The emergence of this paradigm reflects a broader transformation in legal thought, from retributive justice to restorative and participatory justice frameworks.[2]
This paper critically examines the evolution of victim-centric reforms in India, analyzing their legal foundations, judicial interpretations, and practical limitations. It interrogates whether these reforms genuinely empower victims or merely offer symbolic recognition within an otherwise State-dominated system.
[1] Sashwat Gupta, Victim Impact Statement: Relevance in the Indian Criminal Justice System, SSRN Elec. J. (2024),https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4810216.
[2]Souradipta Bandyopadhyay, An Analytical Study of Paradigms of Forestry and Wildlife Crimes vis-à-vis Indian Criminal Justice System with a Special Reference to the Role of NGOs, 3 Ann. Int’l J. Analysis Contemp. Legal Affs. 96 (2023),https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10461417.