SC to examine compliance of guidelines, laws on acid attack survivors

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court Friday decided to examine various grievances raised in a PIL on acid attacks including compliance with guidelines and laws for compensation, rehabilitation of victims and including male survivors within the purview of the law.

The petition came up for hearing before a bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Sanjiv Khanna which said a direction can be passed by giving opportunity to all respondents for their views.

The court issued notices to the Centre and all state governments and Union Territories for their responses within four weeks.

The petition filed by advocate Anuja Kapur sought directions to the Centre and state governments for compliance to the existing guidelines, policies and various laws for compensation and rehabilitation of acid attack survivors.

She was accompanied by a male acid attack survivor Chandrahass Mishra who works for the Uttar Pradesh chapter of Acid Survivors and Women Welfare Foundation.

The plea further sought directions to constitute a committee for framing of guidelines to provide the survivors with the necessary organs (such as eyes, artificial skin grafts and other facial organs required to the victim).

It also sought directions to include men to be a part of existing women Centre Acid Laws, which are being enacted by central and state governments.

The plea further said there was a need to maintain the registers and documents relating to jobs and education, compensation, medical facilities and legal aid and services provided to the survivors at central and state level.

It called for a policy for termination of licences of shopkeepers for illegal trading of the sale of the acid over the counter and registration of FIR for it.

"Licences are not being terminated by the centre and state governments for violation of laws and there are no record of the maintenance of the sale register online," it said.

The plea claimed that no proof of ID verification or licence were checked by the shopkeepers at the time of selling the acid and no search warrants were being issued.

"FIRs are not being filed by police stations, rather attempts are made to compromise the heinous crime," it said.

The plea said that as per the guidelines and directions of the apex court and Allahabad high court, government and private hospitals were to provide free medical treatment and aid including plastic surgeries.

"But the scenario at the grass root level is total violation of the guidelines and directions.

Private hospitals does not entertain acid attack survivors even after they are laws," it claimed.

The plea claimed that there is a clear failure of victimology and the survivors no longer trust the police, government departments and judicial system.

"They believe they all are corrupted and fail to provide justice to the victim. It is the need of an hour to held accountable and liable the central and state governments for not complying with the guidelines and orders of the apex court," it said.