SC to Bihar: Pay Rs 13 lakh relief to 2 acid victims

Expressing serious concern over the increasing number of acid attack cases in the country, the Supreme Court on Monday directed the Bihar government to pay Rs 13 lakhs to two sisters, who were victims of an acid attack when they were sleeping in their house.

Giving this direction while disposing of a writ petition filed by NGO Parivartan Kendra, a bench of Justices M.Y. Eqbal and C. Nagappan pointed out that the compensation of Rs 3 lakhs for acid attack victims awarded by the apex court in the “Laxmi” case was only the minimum amount and the actual compensation would depend on the nature of the injuries sustained by the victim. Writing the judgment, Justice Eqbal said that in this case one of the sisters, Chanchal, suffered grievous burns and her father had already spent Rs 5 lakhs for her treatment. Pointing out that it was the responsibility of the government to prevent such incidents, the bench directed the Bihar government to pay Chanchal Rs 10 lakhs and Rs 3 lakhs to the other sister, Sonam, who received minor injuries.

The bench directed all states and Union Territories to consider the plight of such victims and take appropriate steps with regard to inclusion of their names under the “disability list.”

The bench said, “We have come across many instances of acid attacks across the country. These attacks have been rampant for the simple reason that there has been no proper implementation of the regulations or control for the supply and distribution of acid. Henceforth, a stringent action be taken against those erring persons supplying acid without proper authorisation and also the concerned authorities be made responsible for failure to keep a check on the distribution of the acid.”