Acid attacks: SC directs states, UTs to provide free treatment to survivors

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday directed all the states and union territories to compensate, rehabilitate and provide free treatment to the survivors of acid attacks under the pursuance of guidelines issued by it earlier. [caption id=“attachment_2305056” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image of an acid attack victim. Reuters[/caption] A bench of justices M Y Eqbal and C Nagappan gave the direction while dealing with a case of an acid attack victim from Bihar. The court asked the Bihar government to pay a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the victim, besides providing her free treatment including reconstruction surgery. The bench also asked the states and Union Territories to provide all kind of help to such victims as provided in an earlier judgement. The present matter was brought before the apex court by Bihar-based NGO Parivartan Kendra which has sought it’s direction on rehabilitation of acid attack victims, alleging that private hospitals were not providing free treatment to the victims. Earlier, the court had come to the aid of acid attack survivors by issuing directions including an order to all private hospitals across the country to provide free treatment, including medicines and expensive reconstruction surgeries, to such victims. It had asked all state governments and Union Territories to “take up the matter with private hospitals” to ensure acid attack victims are attended to immediately and adequately. The hospitals, where such victims are rushed after the incident, would have to provide a certificate or document stating that the person was an acid attack victim and the document would enable her or him to access free treatment, including surgeries, at a later stage, the apex court had directed. The court banned the sale of off-the-counter acid across the country and asked all states and Union Territories to notify acid as a “scheduled substance” and to stop its unregulated sale. The court had also said its order should be sent to Chief Secretaries of all states and Union Territories, who in turn, would ensure that it reached district magistrates for compliance and directed them to publicize it to ensure awareness among the people. PTI