New Delhi, April 9
Mounting cases of acid attacks on women have finally forced the policy makers to sit up and react. For the first time in the history of this crime, victims seem to have found some support, with the National Commission for Women (NCW) finalising its draft bill on the “Prevention of offences by acid attacks”.
The proposed law will, for the first time, provide relief and rehabilitation to victims of the acid attacks, now being viewed as the worst form of gendered sexual violence.
While Rs 5 lakh has been fixed as the upper limit of compensation for the victims, Rs 30 lakh per case has been set aside as monetary relief for treatment. The bill also has provisions to penalise hospitals that refuse to treat victims of acid attacks.
Besides, it vehemently argues for addition of a new section to the IPC, a section to recognise the act of throwing or using acid on the body of another person as crime.
“Right now, such cases are being registered under Section 326 of the IPC which talks of grievous injury. We have proposed section 326-A to deal separately with offences of acid attack,” said sources in the NCW. The proposal is significant considering most such cases prove inconclusive due to lack of evidence.
The draft bill goes many steps further to propose the creation of boards to recommend ways of regulating the sale of acid. Right now, hydrochloric acid is openly available; a litre costs anywhere between Rs 18 and Rs 27. There is no law to govern or regulate acid sale, something that is bothering the lawmakers, faced with an increasing number of acid attack cases.
About 1,000 are being annually reported, led by Karnataka where 60 acid attack cases have surfaced since 1999, followed by Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Mumbai. In 97 per cent cases, the victims are women.
“The tragedy is lack of sympathy for these victims, who are scarred for life and are rarely in a condition to support themselves. We have finalised the bill and will send it to the Ministry of Women and Child Development for consideration,” said Girija Vyas, who today took over as the NCW chairperson for the second term.
The bill is very important, more so because it clarifies that money will be handed over directly to the hospital where the victim is undergoing treatment, and not to relatives or spouses.
