New Delhi: The Supreme Court yesterday directed the union home secretary to convene a meeting of chief secretaries of all states and administrators of union territories to deliberate enactment for the effective regulation of the sale of acid to prevent acid attacks.
The apex court bench of Justice R M Lodha, Justice J Chelameswar and Justice Madan B Lokur said the meeting would also formulate policy for treatment, after-care and rehabilitation of acid attack victims.
The court said the meeting would also evolve policy for compensation to the victims of acid attacks, including creation of a separate corpus for this purpose. The court said that the secretary, ministry of chemical and fertilizer, and concerned secretaries from the states would be involved in the exercise.
The court’s direction to the union home secretary came in the course of the hearing of a petition seeking treatment, after-care and rehabilitation and compensation to the acid attack victims by the government and deterrent provision for the punishment of the accused.
As the court issued the directive to the union home secretary, it expressed its dissatisfaction with the steps taken by him in pursuance of the August 31, 2012, direction to convene such a meeting.
“We are not satisfied,” Justice Lodha said when Additional Solicitor General Mohan Parasaran told the court that in pursuance of its August 31, 2012, direction the home secretary had written a letter to the ministry of chemical and fertilizer that it may constitute an expert group to examine the possibility of enacting legislation for banning the counter sale of acid.
The home ministry’s communication to Parasaran said the matter was referred to the chemical and fertilizer ministry as the issue of regulating the sale of acid came under its preview.
Parasaran told the court that on February 3 the government issued an ordinance amending the Indian Penal Code and making acid attack a specific criminal offence. The court was told that the ordinance was given assent by the President. The court gave six weeks for convening of state chief secretaries’ meeting and another two weeks for Parasaran to file report before the court. IANS
