The criminal law in India does not recognize the right of the victim of a crime to be a party to the criminal proceedings against the offender. In fact, there would normally be no need for victim’s participation in such proceedings if the State and its instrumentalities consider it to be their bounden duty to get the offender punished. However, what is seen in actual practice is that the investigation and prosecution is conducted in most of the cases by the concerned agencies in an inefficient and indifferent manner with the result that a high percentage if offenders get a clean acquittal from the courts. As this failure to get the offender punished for his crime generates contempt towards the State and its criminal justice system, apart from compelling the victim to look for extra-legal avenues to settle his score with the offender, there is a need for reviewing the existing legal provisions relating to the position of a victim vis-a-vis the offender in a criminal trial. ....