JUSTICE IN THEIR WORDS: EVALUATING VICTIM INPUT AT SENTENCING IN INDIAN CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

Abstract

Victim Impact Statements (VIS) are a vital method of incorporating victim voices into criminal sentencing, securing procedural justice, and recognizing the multifaceted victims of crime. This paper assesses the possible integration of VIS in India's adversarial criminal justice system, where victims continue to be marginalized participants in the face of global progress in victim rights. Basing itself on comparative research (e.g., U.S., UK, Australia) and global standards such as the UN Declaration (1985), the paper contends that VIS maximizes victim dignity, yields therapeutic dividends, and promotes sentencing justice by exposing physical, emotional, and socioeconomic impacts of crime. Indian judicial trends acknowledge VIS's worth, but legislative loopholes remain—especially in the recently passed Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (2023), which excludes victim participation at sentencing.
The article pinpoints different obstacles to VIS implementation in India viz., institutional restrictions, cultural barriers and procedural issues. Although VIS subscribes to restorative justice values such as focusing on conversation and redemption, the effectiveness of VIS in India requires culturally sensitive adjustments. Post-trial VIS delivery, victim support infrastructure, and judicial training are imperative to attain the effective implementation. Without such reforms, India's criminal justice system will continue to act as a horse with blinders on, with their sole focus on state-oriented retribution and not victim-oriented restoration, subverting just justice.