Abstract “Victims should come first” - Maria juliHernandez The role of the victim of crime in our criminal justice system which follows the common law colonial tradition is restricted to that of witness in the prosecution of an offence. Rights of victims are often overlooked unlike the accused. Victims in India have virtually no rights in criminal proceedings, supposedly conducted on their behalf by state agencies. This stems from a negative perception of the victim of a crime as a person who has suffered harm including physical & mental injury emotional suffering economic loss or substantial impairment of their fundamental rights. When state agencies fail to successfully prosecute offenders, as is oftentimes the case, victims are left to either suffer injustice silently or seek personal retribution by taking the law into their own hands. Typically the interests of the victim are subordinated to what are regarded as more im ....