The Supreme Court today sought response from the Madhya Pradesh government on a petition seeking a compensation of Rs 7.50 lakh each for two school-going girls raped by 18 people in open field in Betma town of Indore district in February. A bench comprising justices D K Jain and Madan B Lokur issued notices to the state government and also sought the stand of district and police administration of Indore on the petition filed by a senior citizen,Satya Pal Anand. Anand has challenged the dismissal of his PIL by the Indore Bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court which on June 22 refused to give directions for awarding compensation to the victims. The PIL was filed in the high court on February 21 based on the media report that after February 19 gangrape,the clippings of heinous crime recorded on the mobile phone was circulated by preparing the CDs and later it was posted on the Internet. The senior citizen has contended that victims were entitled for compensation and cited judgements of some courts which have accepted the plea for compensation for victims of rape. He has also brought to the notice of the apex court that after that incident,reports of around 10 more cases of rape appeared in the media.
