Bengaluru, May 11 -- The Karnataka High Court has ruled that victims who turn hostile and fail to support the prosecution in criminal cases are not entitled to compensation under the government's victim compensation scheme.

Justice V Srishananda passed the order while allowing a petition filed by the Karnataka State Legal Services Authority challenging a trial court direction to grant Rs 3 lakh compensation to a rape survivor who had turned hostile during trial proceedings.

The High Court observed that the accused had been acquitted primarily because the victim gave contradictory evidence and failed to support the prosecution during the hearing. In such circumstances, the trial court had no authority to recommend compensation under the ...