New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday said that states were obliged to compensate the victims of cow vigilante groups.

The apex court asked all the states to file a report on the compliance of its order by appointing a nodal officer to prevent violence by the cow vigilante groups across the country.

As reports have been filed by Gujarat, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Karnatak and Uttar Pradesh, the court also asked other states to comply soon.

“Victims are to be compensated. It is obligatory on the part of the state to compensate the victim of crime,” the bench headed by the Chief Justice Dipak Misra said.

Under the Code of Criminal Procedure, the state is under obligation to have a scheme for victim compensation and if they don’t have then they should have one, it added

Senior counsel Indira Jaising appearing for one of the petitioners had urged the apex court order compensation to the victims of violence by the vigilante groups.

Jaising said that there should be a National Policy for the Prevention of Crime.

Senior counsel Kapil Sibal also appearing for one of the petitioner told the court that while the perpetrator of violence in the name of protecting vows were on bail, the victims faced FIRs and persecution.