Acid attack an ‘uncivilised, heartless crime’; perpetrator does not deserve any clemency: SC

Acid attack an ‘uncivilised, heartless crime’; perpetrator does not deserve any clemency: SC

1. The Supreme Court has condemned acid attacks and viewed them as “uncivilised and heartless crimes”. The court has further added that acid attack perpetrators do not deserve any leniency.
2. The Supreme Court has observed this while asking two convicts to pay Rs. 1.5 lakh each as additional compensation to the acid attack victim. The convicts had thrown acid on a girl in 2004 in Himachal Pradesh. They have already undergone five-year rigorous imprisonment.
3. The Supreme Court has further directed the state government to pay compensation to the acid attack survivor under the Victim Compensation Scheme.
4. The Victim Compensation scheme seeks to provide financial support to victims of various crimes such as rape, gang rape, acid attacks, and unnatural sexual assault. The compensation part of the rehabilitation of victims of violence is governed by provision of Section 357A of the Code of Criminal Procedure. It states that 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 of crime.
5. In 2018, the Supreme Court approved Compensation Scheme for Women Victims/Survivors of Sexual Assault/other Crimes. The scheme is not linked with the trial in such cases. Under this scheme, the victim can approach the State or District Legal Services Authority for compensation immediately after the incident. The scheme empowers legal services authority to take suo moto cognizance of cases of sexual assault and acid attack to grant interim relief to victims.
6. Acid Attack Victims have also been included in the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016. The act seeks to enhance the Rights and Entitlements of disabled people and provide effective mechanism for ensuring their empowerment and true inclusion into the society.