Recently, Delhi High Court held that the victim of a sexual offence has "unbridled participatory rights" in all criminal proceedings in the matter but there is no legal requirement to make her a party to the proceedings.

The bench of Justice Anup Jairam Bhamabhani directed the high court registry to "carefully scrutinise" all filings in order to ensure the anonymity of the victim is strictly maintained.

The court also said in light of a Supreme Court decision granting participatory rights to such victims in criminal proceedings, section 439(1A) (right of victim to be heard) of Code of Criminal Procedure must be expanded to include her right to be heard even in petitions where an accused seeks anticipatory bail, a convict seeks suspension of sentence, parole, furlough, or other such interim relief.

The court's order came while dealing with bail plea by a person accused of rape and aggravated sexual assault on a minor.

The victim had been made a "party-respondent" in the matter while redacting her details.

The court observed that it is the State which is in-charge of prosecuting criminal offences and the "right to be represented and be heard" is different from the "right or the obligation to be a party" to the proceedings.

The court noted there may be times where a victim may not seek a hearing, and making her a party to the proceedings and mandating her to appear and defend may cause her additional hardship and agony.

"There is no requirement in law to implead the victim, that is to say, to make the victim a party, to any criminal proceedings, whether instituted by the State or by the accused," said the court in its 20-page order.

"In accordance with the mandate of the Supreme Court.., a victim now has unbridled participatory rights in all criminal proceedings in relation to which the person is a victim, but that in itself is no reason to implead a victim as a party to any such proceedings, unless otherwise specifically so provided in the statute," it stated.

The court said it was clear that victims of crime can no longer be asked to remain mere spectators and must be accorded unbridled participatory rights in the legal proceedings initiated in relation to the crime alleged to have been committed against them.