Acid attacks are used as weapons to suppress and control the women to disfigure or kill her out of jealousy or revenge. It can be seen as gender-based violence against women. A report reveals that 78% of cases of acid attack happen due to negation of romance or refusal of the marriage proposal. Acid attack is defined by the National Commission of India as The National. Commission of India defines an acid attack as “any act of throwing acid or using acid in any form on the victim with the intention of or with the knowledge that such person is likely to cause to the other persons permanent or partial damage or deformity or disfiguration to any part of the body of such person.” The acid attack hardly kills anyone but it causes pitiless injuries over the victim’s face or at the place wherever it is thrown.
In this article, the author shall highlight how dangerous can an acid attack be in part I. Accordingly, the author shall describe legislation that made against these acid attacks in part II. Finally, the author shall conclude how the number of these attacks would reduce.
(Keywords: Acid attack; Violence; Acid; Jealousy; Revenge; Women)
- I. HOW DANGEROUS CAN ACID ATTACKS BE?
Everyone has the right to live. But the acid attack is one of the brutal transgressions done against the women and victims of the acid attack forget their right to live. Chhapaak movie based on the real-life story of Laxmi Agarwal, who is an Indian acid attack survivor, directed by the Meghna Gulzar, made me write about the acid attacks in India. There are many acid attack survivors to whom Laxmi Agarwal is an inspiration because she is not a quitter. Her PIL sought many addendums in the Indian Penal Code, Criminal Procedure Code, IndianEvidence Act. She had received the International Women Courage Award by US First Lady Michelle Obama in 2014.
A report says that every year approximately a thousand women suffer an acid attack in India. These attacks mostly happen when any woman refutes any man’s offer to be in a relationship with him and wanted to live life in her way.Some men cannot negotiate with disapproval and in range of anger, take revenge in the form of acid attack just to satisfy their ego so that she would give up, and could not stand in her feet again. It is an expression of control over woman’s and girl’s bodies. The perpetrator limits victim’s ability to engage in public life and destructs their chance of marriage and procreation of children. It has become very easy for the perpetrator to throw acid on the face of a woman and run away. And the perpetrator is successful in attacking the victim by covering his face during the transgression.
There has been a colossal increase in this violent and heinous crime in the immediate past because the acid is easily available at low cost without any identification in the market. According to data released by National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), between 2014 to 2018, there have been 1,483 victims of acid attacks in the country. The number of acid attack incidents have been rising in the country, but sadly, the number of people charge-sheeted for those crimes has gone down.
The year 2017 observed the highest number of acid attacks in these five years at 309, with 319 victims.While the year 2017 was followed by 2018, unfortunately, the legal process shows a serious backlog for both years.A total of 596 cases of the acid attack were reported in 2017 and 2018, with 623 victims falling prey, but data reveals that only 149 people were charge-sheeted every year. This is approximately or less than half the number of incidents each year. The lowest number of cases (244) was reported in the year 2014, with 201 accused charge-sheeted. Uttar Pradesh, Delhi,and West Bengal, alone these three states make up 42% victims of the acid attacks in India during these five years.
The ferocity of burning resorts to what kind of acid was used in the attack. Ordinarily criminal uses Hydrochloric Acid (HCl), Nitric Acid (HNO₃) and Sulphuric Acid (H2SO4) to attack the victim. These acids cause a severe burning sensation wherever it is thrown and bones get melted. It may make the victim blind if it contacts the eye. Permanent marks are left on the victim’s face and body. After the acid attacks, many death reports have been submitted because it becomes very hard to survive if the burn is fathomless. It can also lead to ulcers if the acid enters the food pipe of the victim.
If the victim survived by God’s grace, it costs a huge amount of money for surgery to make the victim look a little normal. Not every victim can afford the cost of the treatment. The compensation that is promised is not sufficient and remains only a written statement. Expenses of her treatment shatter economically. The victim not only goes through physical torture but also severe social and emotional torture and loses self- confidence. It is impossible to interpret the pain, the victim goes through. Meanwhile, the perpetrator enjoys a free and happy life on bail or gets free after a small duration of imprisonment.
- II. LEGISLATIONS ENACTED AGAINST ACID ATTACKS
In India, the punishment is decided on the ferocity of burning; not on the torture the victim goes through.Under section 324of the Indian Penal Code, the perpetrator can be sent to jail only for 3 years, if the burn is small. If the burn is inexorable, the perpetrator can be sent to jail for 10 years which can extend up to life imprisonment along with fine under section 326 of the Indian Penal Code.
It has been very rare to charge the accused under section 307of the Indian Penal Code for the attempt to murder.
On April 2nd, 2013 Indian Penal Code was amended and it passed “The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 which incorporated Section 326A and Section 326B especially for dealing with acid violence.
Apart from the above legislation, on 16th July 2013, the Centre had declared the acid as poisoned after the Supreme Court’s blame on the Center of being insensitive towards the victim of acid attacks.Now the buyers of acid must produce identity proof, residential proof along with the purpose of purchase. The Supreme Court of India has directed all states and Union territories to grant licenses to retailers. It has also prohibited anyone who is under the age of 18 years i.e. minor from purchasing acids like HCL, HNO3, and H2SO4.
The Government of India is trying to make new laws that will reduce the easy availability of acid in the Indian market system.
III. COMPENSATION FOR ACID ATTACK
Section 357C has been newly incorporated in the Criminal Procedure Code whereby all hospitals whether public or private are required to provide first aid or medical treatment free of cost to the victims of any offense under section 326A, 376, 376A, 376B, 376C, 376D or section 376E of the Indian Penal Code and such incidence should be informed immediately to the police.
It has made it essential for retailers to declare the amount of acid being stocked to the police. In doing so if any failure occurs i.e. concealment of the stock would lead to a fine of 50,000 rupees.
- IV. CONCLUSION AND WAY FORWARD
Though the no. of acid attacks is increasing day by day in India, women cannot sit at their home in fear of such criminals. There is an immediate need for proper implementation of pre-existing laws that remain only in the paper. Before these implementations of laws, there is the foremost thing to implement, the mentality of Indian society which has been accustomed to cutting the wings of the woman for years. Many people in the country are not aware of the laws made against the acid attack due to illiteracy and do not know new and preexisting rules and regulations on the purchase and sale of these harmful acids. Steps need to be taken by the government authorities to make people aware of these regulations.
There are scrupulous penal laws against acid attackers, but there is the requirement to draft the provisions which could regulate the sale of acid because these acids are easily available for many purposes like domestic-use, research, and scientific purposes, etc. So, the examining team should be assembled for executing and checking the laws. Thus, steps should be taken to execute the new legislation to reduce such violence.
Acid attacks have a long-lasting impact on the life of the victim and their life becomes like a hell. Therefore, to curb attacks, harsh punishment should be given to the perpetrator so that they could realize the same way as the victims feel.
By-
Shailee Mishra
University Of Allahabad
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