ACIDYFYING THE LAW- Acid Attack An Analysis By - Sonali Sharma

ACIDYFYING THE LAW- Acid Attack An Analysis

Authored By - Sonali Sharma

BBA LL.B. (H.), 2nd year,

Amity University Madhya Pradesh, Gwalior

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

LIST OF FIGURES

Abstract:

Splash of acid not only damages a person’s physical appearance but also majorly deteriorates his psychological and social well-being. The victim’s perception regarding herself is surely impacted but what hurts a victim more is how the words of people in the society picturize her through their eyes; in many cases they call her the reason behind her own suffering, call her names, make her feel like a survivor instead of a fighter and all similar sort of malpractices are faced by an acid attack victim. The victim’s life after any such accident changes completely be it her personal life or professional one. Its not important to sympathize or cry on someone’s loss always, but its about making a person feel left out, ignored or making her feel at every moment that she has changed, which hurts a victim more psychologically. In many such cases the victims do loose the battles and commit suicides due to the increasing mental pressure day by day. The ones who survive and go out their homes each day face a new battle everyday, what scares them is the horrifying screams of people or their frightened expressions which they receive each day. The girls who once never forgot to take their bags while going out, now dare not forget the clothes to mask their faces. The no. of cases of acid attacks in Ind. have seen no decline in the previous years. In such a scenario its essential to understand the root cause behind these attacks and find the lacunas in the current laws regarding acid attacks.

The Law regarding Acid Attacks in India:

Provisions under Indian Penal Code (IPC)

The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 inserted Section 326A and Section 326B in the Indian Penal Code, 1860  creating special provisions for the victims of acid attack. The offenders convicted under these sections shall be imprisoned for a minimum sentence of ten years which may increase up to life imprisonment along with fine; that fine should cover the medical expenses incurred by the victim.

IPC Sec. 326-A:

Whoever causes permanent or partial damage or deformity to, or bums or maims or disfigures or disables, any part or parts of the body of a person or causes grievous hurt by throwing acid1 on or by administering acid to that person, or by using any other means with the intention of causing or with the knowledge that he is likely to cause such injury or hurt, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which shall not be less than ten years but which may extend to imprisonment for life, and with fine;

Provided that such fine shall be just and reasonable to meet the medical expenses of the treatment of the victim;

Provided further that any fine imposed under this section shall be paid to the victim.

IPC Sec. 326-B:

Whoever throws or attempts to throw acid1 on any person or attempts to administer acid to any person, or attempts to use any other means, with the intention of causing permanent or partial damage or deformity or bums or maiming or disfigurement or disability or grievous hurt to that person, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which shall not be less than five years but which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine.
 

Essentials :

• Throwing/attempting to throw/administering acid
• Causing grievous hurt
• Causes permanent or partial damage (burns, maims, disfigures or disables) 

This offence is a cognizable and non-bailable offence.  

Explanations:

• The term “acid” can be used for any substance that is corrosive in nature. It could be a substance of burning nature. It should be capable of inflicting temporary or permanent disfigurement or disability to a person.
• For a person to be convicted under this offence it is not a requirement that the disfigurement must be irreversible in nature.    

Provisions under Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC):

In 2009, with the introduction of Section 357A in the CrPC, the concept of rehabilitative compensation paid by the State emerged in the criminal justice system of India. Section 357A was incorporated to specifically provide for compensation to victims and their family members. The provision also mandated every State Government to frame “a scheme for providing funds for the purpose of compensation to the victim or his dependents who have suffered loss or injury as a result of the crime and who, require rehabilitation.”

Sec. 357 A CrPC: Victim Compensation Scheme

  Every State Government in co-ordination with the Central Government shall prepare a scheme for providing funds for the purpose of compensation to the victim or his dependents who have suffered loss or injury as a result of the crime and who, require rehabilitation.

  Whenever a recommendation is made by the Court for compensation, the District Legal Service Authority or the State Legal Service Authority, as the case may be, shall decide the quantum of compensation to be awarded under the scheme referred to in sub-section (1)

  If the trial Court, at the conclusion of the trial, is satisfied, that the compensation awarded under section 357 is not adequate for such rehabilitation, or where the cases end in acquittal or discharge and the victim has to be rehabilitated, it may make recommendation for compensation.

  Where the offender is not traced or identified, but the victim is identified, and where no trial takes place, the victim or his dependents may make an application to the State or the District Legal Services Authority for award of compensation.

  On receipt of such recommendations or on the application under sub-section (4), the State or the District Legal Services Authority shall, after due enquiry award adequate compensation by completing the enquiry within two months.

  The State or the District Legal Services Authority, as the case may be, to alleviate the suffering of the victim, may order for immediate first-aid facility or medical benefits to be made available free of cost on the certificate of the police officer not below the rank of the officer incharge of the police station or a Magistrate of the area concerned, or any other interim relief as the appropriate authority deems fit.

The above stated provisions were made in IPC and CrPC respectively, in order to fight against the increasing cases of acid attacks in India, but how were were we successful in doing so let’s understand with a comparative analysis.

COMPARATIVE STUDY:

Let’s understand the issue of acid attacks more deeply with reference to previous years datas and their analyzation:

Comparison With Other Countries on the basis of Gender:

Table 1

Comparison of Conditions before and after the coming of Law:

Acid Attacks in India: 2010-2021

Table- 2

Source- Kannadasan, 2015; National crime records bureau India & www.statista.com

Figure 1

Comparative Analysis:

• From the data provided above (Table 1) it can be observed that the countries around the globe have faced issues related to acid attacks against both males and females. Most of those countries have made provisions in their law in order to stop such attacks against both men and women, the law there is equal and there is no bias on the grounds of Gender so is the case in India. But the awareness regarding the severity of these crimes against men has to be brought before the people.
• From the data provided above (Table 2) it can be observed that rate of acid attacks in India has increased over the years. Since the past four years it has not shown a very good picture. In 2013 the law was made in order to tackle the problem of acid attacks but on the contrary it has not brought any significant decline in the rate of attacks, Instead they have only increased.
• Hence, it is important to consider both the reasons, and we must also find out the loopholes in the current law due to which the attacks are still increasing.

Case Laws:

Marepally Venakata Sree Nagesh v. State of A.P., Andhra Pradesh H.C. 2002

In this case, the accused was the husband of the deceased. He doubted the character of his wife for having extra marital affairs and illegitimate relations with another man. He inserted Mercuric Chloride into her vagina which caused renal failure and resulted in her death. The accused was punished under section- 302 and 307 of the IPC.

State of Karnataka by Jalahalli Police Station v. Joseph Rodrigues, Karnataka High Court 2006

This case is one of the most famous case of acid attack. The accused threw acid on a girl name Haseena because she refused to accept his job offer. After this attack, her skin color and appearance of her face was changed. Moreover, this attack left her blind. The accused was convicted under section 307 of the IPC and punished for the imprisonment of life.

Landmark Judgements:

Laxmi vs. U.O.I. SC 2006

In this case the accused threw acid on her relative because she refused his marriage proposal and was in a relationship with another boy. The victim filled a petition in S.C. to regulate the sale of acid, to compensate for the cost of treatment of the acid attack victims, and to make new provisions dealing specifically with acid attacks.

The apex court, issued orders to regulate sale of acid to the respective state or U.T. It was also held by the supreme court that there will be full medical assistance provided to the victims and ordered both public and private hospitals to provide free medical treatments to such victims. A certificate should be issued to the victims stating about them and no hospital should violate these laws and will inform the police immediately about any such event. It was also held that the compensation of minimum of 3 Lakhs by the state will be provided to the victim for aftercare and rehabilitation cost.

State of Maharashtra vs. Ankur Panwar (Preeti Rathi case), S.C. 2002

In this case the accused Ankur Panwar threw acid on the victim named Preeti Rathi at Bandra Station in 2013 because she refused to accept his marriage proposal and opt to pursue her career in nursing. The accused was sentenced to death by a special women’s court of Mumbai and also imposed a fine of Rs. 5000 to be given to the parents of the victim. This was the first time that a convict was sentenced to death. India was the second country to do this after Bangladesh.

Where do we Lack?

The loopholes in the present law are to be detected and resolved in order to bring down the rate of attacks:

• The one of the major loophole lies in the implementation of the provision. Mostly the attack survivors do not complain against such matters due to the slow process of decision making which actually involves a lot of time, energy and money. Also the victims, feel ashamed to even step-out from their homes due to the amount of psychological damage done due to such attacks, in such a case complaining and going through a much more depressing cycle of filling complaints and seeking for justice is in itself a wholesome tiring process to go through which should be simplified.
• Also, the selling of acids should be done under strict observation and monitoring by the government. In no circumstances selling of acids should be done without taking due care. The punishment should be prescribed for the offenders too under this act.
• The punishment should be made more strict as per the severity of the crime.
• There is still lack of knowledge about the rules regarding sale and purchase of acids, so government should take steps to spread awareness regarding the same.
• Such victims should also be offered help by the government in getting employment opportunities or education.
• The compensation amount should be increased since the cosmetic surgeries in itself are very expensive and the amount of loss one has to suffer in terms of loosing job or other issues must also be taken into consideration
• A separate body should be made by government to facilitate such victims.

Methodology

Books Referred:

Indian Penal Code- Bare Act

Indian Penal Code- K.D. Gaur

Indian Penal Code- Ratanlal and Dhirajlal

Sites Referred:

www.blog.ipleaders.in

www.indiankanoon.com

www.casemine.com

www.feminisminindia.com

www.statista.com

www.wikipedia.org