Victim Participation in Criminal Trials under New Criminal Laws in India: Doctrinal Comments

The individual most affected by the acknowledgment of wrongdoing is the victim of the crime. In ancient time, the victim played a central role, with a focus on compensation for harm suffered. However, as criminal law evolved into its modern form, the victim's role steadily diminished. The older system of direct compensation was replaced by a state-driven approach to addressing criminal acts. This shift led to the separation of penal consequences from victim compensation, fundamentally transforming the criminal trial into a process where the victim's involvement is limited to serving as a witness. Such relegation of victim to the position of a mere witness has been challenged by the victim rights movement in various countries and sought to be ameliorated with the help of legislative reforms. While India has unfolded similar kind of reforms for enhancing the participation of victim, the results are not consistent and victim satisfaction is still very low. In this context, this paper undertakes a doctrinal investigation of victim participation under India’s new criminal laws unveiled in 2023. It analyses the concept of victim participation and its importance for an inclusive justice in a criminal trial. Further, it discusses the reflections of victim participation under the present criminal laws. Lastly, it concludes with recommendations aimed at balancing victims’ rights with due process, thereby advancing the adversarial justice and procedural fairness.