File photo of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan
The Supreme Court today directed the Madhya Pradesh government to pay Rs 10 lakh as compensation each to the two school-going girls who were gang-raped last year in Betma town of Indore district. The top court also issued show cause notice to a senior police officer asking him why a criminal case should not be lodged against him for disclosing the names of the gang-rape survivors in his affidavit.
"Let a notice be issued to him (Additional Superintendent of Police, Indore, Arvind Tiwary). A show cause notice that why under section 228A of the IPC (Indian Penal Code) a case be not registered against him for disclosing the identities of the two rape victims in the affidavit," the Supreme Court said.
"Explanation should be given by him in response to show cause notice within four weeks on receipt of the notice," the Supreme Court added saying while posting the matter for further consideration after six weeks.
The court said the Madhya Pradesh High Court order of giving Rs 2 lakh each as compensation was "very deficient" and "inadequate" for the school-going children who were gang-raped by 16 people in an open field in Betma town in February 2012.
"We direct the Madhya Pradesh Government through its Principal Secretary (Home) to make payment of balance amount of Rs eight lakh to each of the two victims within one month from today," the court said while asking the Centre "to take lead in evolving social security and welfare measures" for victims of such crime for whom "trauma continues throughout the life".
The court said as a federal government, the Centre must take a lead on the issue as it is not one state where such crime was happening but it is happening across the country and "no single day goes when we don't hear about incident of rape in the country".