Combating Acid violence in India: Law alone change this situation
- A. Mani Mekalai, Advocate, Madras High Court.
Introduction:
Acid violence is the deliberate use of acid to attack another human being. The victims of acid violence are overwhelmingly women and children, and attackers often target the head and face in order to maim, disfigure and blind. Acid has a devastating effect on the human body, often permanently blinding the victim. Acid throwing is an extremely violent crime by which the perpetrator of the crime seeks to inflict severe physical and mental suffering on his victim. As stated above this kind of violence is often motivated by deep-seated jealousy or feelings of revenge against a woman acid violence is inflicted on women with the most common reasons for attack being the refusal of marriage, the denial of sex, and the rejection of romance.
Acid attack has long-lasting consequences on the life of the victim who faces perpetual torture, permanent damage and other problems for the rest of her life. Victims normally feel worthless, afraid and modified and become social outcasts because of their appearance. They may become too traumatized and embarrassed to walk out of their house and carry out simple tasks let alone get married, have children, get a job, go to school, etc. Even if they are willing to pursue a normal life, there is no guarantee that society itself will treat them as normal human beings given their appearance and disabilities after an attack. They may not be able to work, or be able to find a job, and thus perpetually struggle to survive.
Definition:
Acid violence involves intentional acts of violence in which perpetrators throw, spray, or pour acid onto the victims’ faces and bodies, often intending to permanently disfigure and cause extreme physical and mental suffering to victims. Acid attacks cause immediate damage, disfigurement, pain, and long lasting medical complications for victims. At first contact, acid feels like water on the body, but within seconds, it causes a burning sensation that quickly becomes increasingly intense. When thrown at the face, acid quickly burns and destroys victims’ eyes, eyelids, ears, lips, noses, and mouths. Victims suffer the most physical pain from superficial wounds rather than deeper burns, as deeper wounds burn off the nerve cells. After the attacks, victims are at risk of breathing failure due to the inhalation of acid vapors which cause either a poisonous reaction or swelling in the lungs. In the weeks or even months after the attack, acid burn victims may suffer from infections, which can also cause death if not treated with proper cleaning techniques and antibiotics.
Acid violence in other countries:
Many countries have begun pushing for legislation addressing acid attacks, and a few have recently employed new laws against this crime.
In Bangladesh,
There has been a steady increase in acid attacks in Bangladesh from approximately 12 per year to 50 per year in the mid-1990s. An even more significant jump was observed in the late 1990s when NGOs in Bangladesh reported up to 250 cases per annum.
In Cambodia,
In a report on acid attacks in Cambodia, collected from newspapers it was reported that 63 people were subject to acid attack. Out of these, 30 victims were female and 31 male.
In United Kingdom,
Although acid violence is not common in the UK, the courts have punished the perpetrators harshly, when there have been such attacks. Attacks are charged under Section 29 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 (OAPA). If not charged under this provision, they are dealt with as murder or attempted murder.
In India,
It has been said that “acid attacks on women are a systemic form of gendered sexual violence. Unlike acid attacks on men, these attacks are used as a weapon to silence and control women by destroying what is constructed as the primary constituent of her identity, i.e., her body. It is important than for any campaign against acid attacks to mobilize public opinion towards recognizing acid attacks as a form of gendered sexual violence and more importantly to recognize the patriarchal notions underlying these attacks”.
Indian Law against Acid Violence:
In 2013, India introduced amendment to the Indian Penal Code through the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013, making acid attacks a specific offence with a punishment of imprisonment not less than 10 years and which can extend to life imprisonment and with fine. Section 114 B of Evidence Act for Presumption as to acid attack.
In India there is no special section in the Indian Penal Code deals with acid attacks, the incidents are not even recorded separately. Section 326 of the I.P.C, which deals with causing grievous hurt by throwing of a corrosive substance etc. is insufficient/ inadequate to deal with the issue.
Firstly, the definition of grievous hurt is not broad enough to cover the various kinds of injuries which are inflicted during acid attacks.
Secondly, the section does not cover the act of administering acid.
Thirdly, the section gives a wide discretion to the courts as far as punishment is concerned. The cases on acid attacks in India show that normally inadequate punishment is awarded in these cases.
Fourthly, the section in the I.P.C does not punish the intentional act of throwing of acid if no injuries occur. Lastly, the section also does not specify who the fine should be awarded to. the person, who has thrown or administered the acid, that he has done so deliberately
· Both the Law Commission of India and the National Commission for Women (NCW) have supported enacting amendments to the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Indian Evidence Code to address acid violence. However, in a public interest litigation court filing in April 2010 before the Supreme Court of India, the government stated that the “existing legislations are sufficient to deal with the offense of acid attack.”
· Acid Survivors Trust International (ASTI) is the only organisation in the world working at the international level to end acid and burns violence. It also works with UN agencies, NGOs and strategic partners from across the world to increase awareness of acid violence and develop effective responses at the national and international level. In India, the partner is called Acid Survivors Forum India.
· We further recommend that the distribution and sale of acid be strictly regulated and the sale of Acid across shop counters be banned. The National Commission for Women (NCW) came up with a draft of the Prevention of Offences (by Acids) Act, 2008.
· The draft Bill proposed by the NCW suggested that a national acid attack victims’ assistance board be set up to recommend to the government strategies for regulating and controlling the production, hoarding, import, sale and distribution of acids.
· The Cabinet has passed the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2012, with special provisions for acid victims. For the first time, acid attacks have been included under a standalone provision in the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
· It has been proposed that two sections — 326A (hurt by acid attack) and 326B (attempt to throw or administer acid) — be added to the IPC. This is a non-bailable offence. The proposed law states that the attacker could get a jail term of 10 years to life for causing hurt by acid. He or she could be sent to jail for up to seven years for attempting to do so.
· The law states that there should be an additional clause in the law making where the State should take up the responsibility of compensating the victim if the accused fails to do so. Some states such as Karnataka have adopted a mechanism to pay the victim from State funds. Recently, the Delhi Government too announced that it would pay a compensation of up to Rs. 3 lakh to a victim in case there is disfigurement of the face.
· The government has recently reversed its position, at least with respect to the adoption of criminal provisions. An expert committee headed by the home minister of India is supposed to recommend the adoption of amendments to the IPC to address acid violence. Legislation to combat acid violence has also been proposed in the State of Andra Pradesh, but has not been enacted yet
Victims of acid attack in India:
Acid attacks are becoming a growing phenomenon in India. In some cases which are targeted against women dowry and property can be the reasons for acid attacks.
Laxmi’s case is an example of what normally occurs in such cases. The petition states that Laxmi, a young girl, was subject to an acid attack following her refusal to marry the accused. As a result of the attack the victim’s arms, face and other body parts were severely disfigured and deformed. Though the victim and her parents were/are poor they were fortunately helped by a benefactor who bore the medical expenses approximating to Rs. 2.5 Lakhs. The victim can of course never look as she did before the attack.
Supreme Court of India,
The accused was the husband of the deceased, Sushila and wanted to kill her and their daughters, Bindu and Nandini to grab property as he was the immediate beneficiary to her estate. He poured acid over her to kill her. She received extensive burn injuries on large parts of their bodies including the face, chest, neck, etc. According to the Doctor the death was due to the corrosive acid burns and shock. The High Court convicted the appellants Ram Charittar and Kishori Lal under Section 302/34 IPC, and sentenced them to life imprisonment.
Andra Pradesh case,
In a 2002 , the accused was suspicious about the character of his wife and inserted mercuric chloride into her vagina, she died due to renal failure. The accused was charged and convicted under Section 302 and 307 IPC.
Calcutta case,
The accused had made a previous abortive attempt to throw acid on the victim and succeeded on a second attempt. The motive for the crime was revenge as the victim had rebuffed the overtures of the main accused Ramesh. The victim Padma died due to extensive acid burns on the neck, chest, right alna, breasts, legs, knees and scalp. Her aunt received 25% burns and her aunt’s son received 11% burns.
Jharkhand case,
The victim was standing with her friend at a Bus Stop in Dhanbad. The Accused came and poured acid over her head and face. The appellant had a photograph of the victim and was blackmailing her but she refused to accede to his demands. The victim suffered burn injuries over the left side of her eye, neck and chest and had to be hospitalized. A case was registered under Sections 324, 326, 307 IPC.
Kerala case,
In one of the most famous cases involving acid attack the accused threw acid on a girl, Hasina, for refusing his job offer. This deeply scarred her physical appearance, changed the colour and appearance of her face and left her blind. The accused was convicted under Section 307 of IPC and sentenced to imprisonment for life. A compensation of Rs. 2,00,000/- in addition to the Trial Court fine of Rs3,00,000 was to be paid by the accused to Hasina’s parents. This was a landmark case as it was the first time that a compensation which was quite a large sum was given to the victim to meet the medical expenses including that of plastic surgeries
Delhi case,
The accused threw acid on the victims face. The liquid splashed or her face produced some redness on the skin over a part of her face involving her upper eye-lids. There was no corrosion, of the skin or other deformity. The accused was convicted for causing hurt under Section 323 of the IPC and a meager fine of Rs. 300 along with 15 days imprisonment was awarded.
Maharashtra case,
Personal enemity with his wife was the reason behind a gruesome acid attack by the husband on his wife as well as another person. This caused disfiguration of the face of both the wife as well as that of the other person and loss of vision of right eye of wife. The accused was charged under Section 326 and 324 of the IPC and was awarded Rs 5000 as fine and 3 years imprisonment. This case again shows that the punishment that is often awarded does not take into account the deliberate and gruesome nature of the attack and rests on technicalities of injuries
U.P case,
Due to enemity acid was poured by a mother and son duo over the victims. One of the victim suffered from multiple acid burns on the whole back extending from capular spine to iliac crest. The other victim suffered Chemical burns on the right side forehead just above medial end of right eye brow and the skin blackened. He also suffered from multiple acid burn on the lateral aspect of left upper arm and skin was blackened apart from other burns. The accused were convicted under Section 304 (punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 323/34 IPC (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt with common intention), with imprisonment of a year and rigorous imprisonment for one year.
In Tamil Nadu,
J. Vinothini, a 23-year old software engineer in Chennai, died of complications following an acid attack on her three months ago. Suresh (28), a construction labourer, had hurled acid on her when she rejected his advances. Vidya, 21, became the second acid attack victim to die in a fortnight in Tamil Nadu; a man whose advances she had spurned threw acid on her. Her death highlighted the imperative need to place curbs on the easy availability of deadly acids over the counter.
Thus over the years various kinds of acid attacks have been registered under the sections related to hurt, grievous hurt, murder etc. However, the nature and effect of the crime of acid attack is very distinct and complex and the Sections relating to hurt and grievous hurt do not provide an adequate relief and punishment. Apart from this the police often use their discretion to decide what sections should be registered in the case of acid attacks and this discretion is at times influenced by gender bias and corruption or is a wrong assessment.
Compensation for the victims:
In most of the cases no compensation has been awarded. In those in which compensation has been awarded the sum is minimal and is totally inadequate to meet even the medical expenses. Normally courts just levy fines without even giving these to the victims. The section on Compensation in the CrPC should therefore clearly spell out that the fines levied should be given to the victim or their dependents.
The Karnataka High Court in a public interest litigation case, ordered the Karnataka state government to give each acid attack victim Rs. 2 lakhs ($4,522 USD). Further, health officials in Karnataka suggested that they would be willing to compensate victims for additional medical expenses.310 However, there is no central government scheme to provide compensation. The Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Dinesh Trivedi, recently proposed that acid attack victims receive free healthcare and insurance, but no concrete steps have been taken to adopt this proposal.
In Bodhisattwa Gautam’s case , The Supreme Court again reiterated the above decision and further laid down that courts had arrived to award interim compensation which should also be provided for in the scheme. An examination of acid attack cases again underlines the urgent need for a scheme of compensation for the victims. Acid attack victims often have to, as stated earlier, undergo multiple surgeries costing Lakhs of Rupees. They are also in urgent need of rehabilitation as they often need financial help to exist.
It has been suggested that the board administers a fund to be called The National Acid Attack Victims Assistance Fund to which the Central and State government can give grants apart from others. It has been provided that the board can give interim financial relief upto Rs. 1 Lakh within a period of 30 days directly to the hospital. Apart from other issues the main problem with the suggestions of the N.C.W is that it is restricting the function of the board to only acid attack cases.eek employment.
After looking at the various legislations we feel that a separate act should be proposed for dealing with compensation to victims of acid attacks, rape, sexual assault, kidnapping etc. We are suggesting a broader legislation so that it can deal with the problems of victims of different crimes who need rehabilitation and compensation for survival.
Stop Acid violence:
To eradicate acid violence, governments must address its root causes: gender inequality and discrimination, the availability of acid, and the impunity of perpetrators. Below we provide concrete recommendations that governments and corporations can immediately undertake in an effort to combat acid violence.
Governments:
In furtherance of their duty to exercise due diligence to prevent acid violence, governments should:
• Enact criminal laws that specifically address acid violence and effectively
regulate the production, distribution, use, sale, and handling of acid;
• Effectively enforce and implement laws designed to deter acid violence;
and
• Provide redress to victims, including compensation for healthcare costs.
Companies:
In furtherance of their emerging duty to exercise due diligence to minimize the negative human rights impacts of their activities, companies that produce, distribute, use, or otherwise handle acid should:
• Assess the ways in which they can reduce the negative human rights
impacts of their activities; and
• Support industry and government efforts to regulate the safe-handling,
storage, labeling, transfer, and disposal of acid by manufacturers, distributors, and other business and individual users of acid in order to deter the unauthorized use of acid.
The training needed for proper investigation includes data and evidence collection, gender awareness, and investigatory techniques for gender based violence.
Conclusion:
The victims suffer a great deal due to a slow judicial process, inadequate compensation and obviously from the after affect of the acid attack itself.Thus, there is an urgent need to legislate distinct sections in the I.P.C to deal with acid attacks and to setup a Criminal Injuries Compensation Board in India to deal with such cases in an effective and efficient manner, to help the victims of acid attack to get compensation for medical expenses and rehabilitation apart from making Section 357 CrPC mandatory in certain respects.
We need to open our eyes to this deadly threat of acid attack and must ask the government to regulate distribution of commonly available acid as well as regulate laws specifically targeting the heinous act of acid attack.