MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court recently directed the Maharashtra State Legal Services Authority (MSLSA) to assist a rape survivor in finding a job under the compensation scheme for survivors of sexual assault. The court also noted the state’s decision to grant her a compensation of ₹4 lakh.
A division bench of chief justice Shree Chandrashekhar and justice Gautam Ankhad was hearing a petition filed by a Ludhiana based woman, who had sought compensation, after she was allegedly sexually assaulted by a man in 2023. The woman claimed to have befriended the man on Instagram, after which he invited her to Mumbai promising her a job.
The man allegedly told the woman that he has contacts in Bollywood and booked her flights to Mumbai. Following her arrival in the city, the man took the woman to his flat in Versova and sexually assaulted her after drugging her. The woman told the court that he had made videos of them in compromising positions, threatened her, and continued assaulting her.
The woman then filed an FIR on July 25, 2025, at the Versova Police Station, seeking a compensation of ₹10 lakh. During an earlier hearing before the Bombay High Court on November 24, the woman said that “compensation to a victim of a crime is not a charity”, adding that the state, which failed to provide adequate protection to a victim, is liable to pay the compensation.
The court had then directed the woman to address an application to the Home Department and the MSLSA, for seeking compensation and highlighting its failure to provide adequate security to women in the city. After this the woman asked the court to direct the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA), MALSA or the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) to award interim and final compensation to her under the Compensation Scheme for Women Victims/Survivors of Sexual Assault/other Crimes, 2018. She also requested the authorities to assist her in finding employment under the scheme.
During the hearing on December 12, additional public prosecutor, Mahalaxmi Ganpathy, told the court that a decision has been taken to offer a compensation of ₹4 lakh to the victim.
The victim, assisted by advocate Yugandhara Khanwilkar, accepted the compensation amount. Khanwilkar stated that the woman is entitled for the maximum amount of compensation under the Scheme, considering how she had been asked to relocate to a new city, she had lost her job, suffered mental trauma and the harassment of a criminal trial, financial difficulties etc.
While the court will hear the matter again on January 9, it directed the authorities to pay the compensation of ₹1 lakh to her within a week. The rest of the amount is to be put in a fixed deposit initially for a 90-day period. The bench allowed the woman to withdraw the amount later after submitting an application.
Khanwilkar informed the court that in the meantime, she would prepare a chart of the schemes, shelter homes, job opportunities etc., as prevalent in other states. Following this, the bench directed the MSLSA to take Khanwilkar’s assistance to explore the possibility of part-time employment for the victim under the legal services such as para-legal volunteer, mediator, member of Lok Adalat etc. It also ordered MSLSA to ensure that the woman gets proper assistance and help for her overall well-being.