The Supreme Court on Tuesday set a four-month deadline for States and Union Territories to frame rules to regulate sale of acids. Aimed at curbing rising incidents of acid attack cases, the court directed all States and UTs to issue notification that would restrict easy availability of acids across the counter.
A bench headed by Justice RM lodha 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 July 18 and frame rules in tune with model rules framed by Centre to regulate the sale of acid at the earliest and possibly by March 31, 2014.” The court ensured that every case of acid attack should be enquired into by the area SDM on how the perpetrator accessed the acid. It was on February 11, 2011, court had directed Centre to consider regulating sale of acid.
In addition, the court also focused attention on providing medical help to victims of acid attack, who incur heavy cost on plastic surgery and face reconstruction surgery. Giving all Chief Secretaries time to respond in this regard till April 15 next year, the bench hoped if free-of-cost treatment could be provided to victims. The Haryana Government’s scheme to foot the entire cost of medicine and psychiatric treatment of such victims impressed the Court. It wondered if other States too could follow suit by bearing the cost of any corrective surgery needed by the victim along with psychiatric counseling considered necessary in such cases.