Delhi HC petitioned to regularise acid sale

The Delhi High Court Wednesday agreed to hear a PIL seeking directions for the central and Delhi governments to regularise the sale of acid and to issue a concrete policy for the rehabilitation of the acid attack victims.

A division bench of Justice B.D. Ahmed and Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva said it will hear the plea filed by an acid attack victim Jan 21.

The Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by NGO Chhanv Foundation, working for the wellbeing of those who have survived acid attacks, said the government has failed to implement the Supreme Court's July 18, 2013, order on illegal sale of acid in the capital.

Advocate Gaurav Kumar Bansal appearing for the NGO told the court that the Supreme Court had issued various directions to the government to curb the acid attack menace. However, despite the directions, the national capital has noticed several acid attacks recently.

The plea said recently two incidences of acid attack have taken place in Delhi. In the first, two men threw acid on a lady doctor in Delhi in December last year, and in the other, a 30-year-old woman suffered severe burns when her landlord threw acid on her Jan 10.

These clearly show the failure of the central and state governments to regularise the sale of the acid in markets here, the plea said.

The plea said: "The Centre and the state government have failed to frame any guideline for the commercial sector to check misuse of acid sales. As per the Supreme Court order, the guidelines should have been framed to check the misuse of acid in private and government establishments, which have to store it for commercial purposes."

The plea also sought direction for the central and Delhi governments to issue a concrete policy for the relief and rehabilitation of the acid attack victims.

"Haryana and Punjab have issued fresh policy for the relief and rehabilitation of acid attack victims and as such have decided to bear 100 percent expenses of medical treatment, including the cost of plastic surgery, for acid attack victims," the plea said.

The plea also asked the court to direct the government to file status report on the directions issued by the Supreme Court July 18, 2013, on the issue.