‘Why acid attacks continue, despite guidelines on sales’, questions SC:Apex court slams policy failure and orders stricter accountability and implementation

The Supreme Court heard a petition related to acid attack incidents on Tuesday. During the hearing, it said that guidelines were in place, yet such incidents continued to occur. This suggested shortcomings in them. The court directed the government to ensure that the guidelines restricting the sale of acid were implemented in all states. It also asked the government to file an affidavit stating what steps would be necessary to prevent the misuse of acid. A bench comprising CJI Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V. Mohana said that acid was still easily available in the market. The Centre and the states would have to work together to resolve the issue. Court asks centre to fix accountability The bench said that the central government should not assume that its responsibility had shifted to the states after issuing the guidelines. The court also asked whether it had sought an explanation from any state regarding the incidents. The court said, “Can you show us a circular in which a state was asked how these incidents occurred despite your guidelines? Where is the accountability of the officials of the agencies responsible for monitoring them?” The bench said, “Issuing directions in a circular using sympathetic language will not serve the purpose. If the incidents are increasing, it means the policy has failed badly.” Implementation remains weak despite guidelines Additional Solicitor General Archana Pathak Dave, appearing for the Centre, said detailed guidelines had been sent to the states regarding the ban on the retail sale of acid. She said that the states had also framed rules, but their implementation was very weak. The Supreme Court said that the guidelines have several shortcomings, which people are exploiting. The court said the Centre and the states must coordinate with each other to address these shortcomings. Suggestion to increase punishment in acid attack cases The Supreme Court had earlier expressed concern over the worrying rise in brutal acid attack cases. The court had asked the Centre to consider increasing the punishment for such crimes. The court had also suggested that the accused should be required to prove that they were not guilty. The Supreme Court issued this order while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by acid attack survivor Shaheen Malik. Shaheen Malik has demanded that acid attack survivors be included in the category of persons with disabilities. This would enable them to benefit from government welfare schemes.