In re: POCSO Victim Compensation (SC)
Supreme Court of India2026 SCC OnLine SC 987Bench: J. Vikram Nath, J. Satish Chandra Sharma
The Supreme Court held that Section 33(8) POCSO uses the words "shall" — the award of compensation by the Special Court is not discretionary but mandatory. The Court held that the Special Court must, at the time of pronouncing conviction, suo motu assess the need for and quantum of compensation without waiting for any application by the victim. The NALSA POCSO Victim Compensation Scheme 2018 sets the minimum floor — courts may award higher compensation if the facts justify it. The direction to approach the State VCDF scheme separately does not discharge the Special Court's own obligation under Section 33(8). The Court directed all POCSO Special Courts to include a mandatory compensation assessment order in every conviction judgment under POCSO, to be forwarded to the District Legal Services Authority for disbursement. States were directed to ensure DLSA funds under the PVCS were replenished within 30 days.