Is a rape worth Rs 6,500? That’s what a shocked a Supreme Court asked the Madhya Pradesh government on Thursday while inquiring from the state whether it was doing “charity” by giving a meagre amount to victims of sexual assault.

The court was hearing a PIL filed by one Nipun Saxena seeking adequate compensation for sufferers of such crimes.

A bench headed by Justice Madan B Lokur was angry to learn that MP, which is among states that receive the highest amount under Nirbhaya Fund scheme, was only disbursing Rs 6,000-6,500 to victims of rape and other sexual assaults.

The Nirbhaya Fund plan was announced by the Centre in 2013 after the sensational December 16, 2012 gang-rape and murder in Delhi to support the initiatives of governments and NGOs working for women’s safety.

Justice Lokur said, “As per this affidavit you are paying Rs 6,000 to 6,500 to a rape victim on an average. How can you do so? You value a rape at Rs 6,500? Going by the affidavit there are 1,951 rape victims in MP and you are giving them Rs 6,000-6,500 each. You have just spent a total of Rs 1 crore on the 1,951 victims. This is shocking and what do we say, most insensitive. What is this going on? You think you are doing some sort of charity?”

SC also expressed anger as none of the states and Union Territories, except MP and Sikkim, filed affidavits specifying the amount they received by under the Nirbhaya Fund towards victim compensation and details of how much of that amount has been disbursed to the people intended.

“We had given a specific order on January 9. Are the states not interested in paying compensation? If you don’t file affidavit, if you can’t then that is the presumption, that you are not interested in safety and protection of women,” Justice Lokur said.

“We direct all the state governments and Union Territories that are respondents in these petitions to file an affidavit within a period of four weeks from today indicating the amount received by each state government and Union Territory under the Nirbhaya Fund towards victim compensation, how much of that amount has been disbursed from the Nirbhaya Fund and even otherwise and to the number of victims of sexual assault,” the bench had said in its January 9 order.

Surinder S Rathi, director of National Legal Services Authority, said finalisation of the Chapter or the “Sub-Scheme” within the existing Victim Compensation Scheme for sufferers of sexual assault will take about four more weeks.