Chief Secretaries of four States — Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Mizoram — will face the acid test on September 23 when the Supreme Court will take a call on initiating contempt proceedings against them for their failure to inform on the compensation and other facilities being provided to acid attack victims.
The Bench of Justices MY Eqbal and C Nagappan on Wednesday sought responses from the four Chief Secretaries as despite granting several opportunities, no response was forthcoming. In its order of August 18, 2015, the Bench had given a “last opportunity” to the non-responsive States to file affidavits or else directed the Chief Secretaries to remain present in court.
The Bench’s direction came on a PIl by NGO Parivartan Kendra which demanded implementation of the compensation scheme laid down by the Supreme Court which prescribes a minimum sum of Rs 3 lakh per victim. In addition, the NGO through senior advocate Colin Gonsalves demanded facilities of free treatment, medicines, face reconstructive surgery, to be extended to acid attack victims.
Interestingly, of the four erring States, Madhya Pradesh is the State having second-highest incidents of acid attacks. A total of 53 cases were reported in the State out of 310 cases from across the country in 2014. This data released by the Government in Parliament named UP as the most notorious State with 186 cases reported last year.
The court’s decision to extend a helping hand to acid attack victims emerged from the fact that the number of acid attacks are on the rise. In 2011, number of acid attack cases in the country stood at 83 that marginally rose to 85 in 2012 and by the next year, slipped to 66. But 2014 was a grim reminder as reported cases spiraled over 300 per cent, showing the seriousness of the problem.
Most States have notified rules for compensation and free treatment of acid attack victims as per Court order. With MP being an exception, the remaining three States yet to file responses have reported very few cases of acid attacks in 2014. Although counsels for the states pleaded with the Court to withdraw notices to Chief Secretaries, the Bench clarified,
“We have not issued contempt notices as yet but have asked them why it not be issued to them.” The Chief Secretaries have been granted time to file affidavits in two weeks before the next date of hearing on September 23.