The Supreme Court on Tuesday set a deadline for all states and union territories to put in place a policy to regulate sale of acid and other corrosive substances to prevent its misuse, particularly by jilted lovers, by the end of March next year. Hearing a case of acid attack, the court had earlier passed a slew of directions on the issue, including directing to make it a non-bailable offence and issuing detailed directions for framing rules in this regard and enhancing the compensation amount for the victim.
A bench headed by Justice R M Lodha also asked the chief secretaries to file response on providing free-of-cost treatment, including plastic surgery, to acid attack victims. The court also sought a response from all state governments and union territories on the Haryana government’s scheme of providing free medical treatment and after-care rehabilitation of the acid attack victims. It directed that whenever an FIR is lodged in an acid attack case, the SDM of the area concerned will hold inquiry into the procurement of acid by the wrongdoer.
The court said: ‘We direct the chief secretaries of all states and the administrator of the union territories to comply with the direction given in the order on 18 July and frame rules in tune with model rules framed by the Centre to regulate the sale of acid at the earliest and possibly by 31 March 2014’.
The court is hearing a PIL filed in 2006 by Delhi-based victim Laxmi who was then a minor. Her arms, face and other body parts were disfigured in an acid attack. Laxmi’s arms, face and other body parts were disfigured in an acid attack. She had faced the attack by three men near Tughlaq Road after she had refused to marry one.
Laxmi had sought framing of a new law or amendment in the existing criminal laws like IPC, Indian Evidence Act and the CrPC for dealing with the offence and had also sought compensation. Laxmi’s counsel had pleaded for a total ban of sale of acid as there were increasing number of incidents of such attacks on women in different states. The counsel had submitted even a small country like Bangladesh had banned the use of acid to prevent such attacks.
A bench headed by Justice R M Lodha also asked the chief secretaries to file response on providing free-of-cost treatment, including plastic surgery, to acid attack victims. The court also sought a response from all state governments and union territories on the Haryana government’s scheme of providing free medical treatment and after-care rehabilitation of the acid attack victims. It directed that whenever an FIR is lodged in an acid attack case, the SDM of the area concerned will hold inquiry into the procurement of acid by the wrongdoer.
The court said: ‘We direct the chief secretaries of all states and the administrator of the union territories to comply with the direction given in the order on 18 July and frame rules in tune with model rules framed by the Centre to regulate the sale of acid at the earliest and possibly by 31 March 2014’.
The court is hearing a PIL filed in 2006 by Delhi-based victim Laxmi who was then a minor. Her arms, face and other body parts were disfigured in an acid attack. Laxmi’s arms, face and other body parts were disfigured in an acid attack. She had faced the attack by three men near Tughlaq Road after she had refused to marry one.
Laxmi had sought framing of a new law or amendment in the existing criminal laws like IPC, Indian Evidence Act and the CrPC for dealing with the offence and had also sought compensation. Laxmi’s counsel had pleaded for a total ban of sale of acid as there were increasing number of incidents of such attacks on women in different states. The counsel had submitted even a small country like Bangladesh had banned the use of acid to prevent such attacks.