5 months ago
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The Supreme Court connected Tuesday (January 27, 2026) recommended that the assets of radical recovered blameworthy of carrying retired acerb attacks should beryllium seized and auctioned to compensate their victims, some arsenic a punishment and a measurement of deterrence.
Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, heading a Bench, said the transgression of acerb attacks should effect successful “extraordinary punitive measures which are beyond the letters of the law”.
The apical tribunal said adopting a “reformative attack has nary spot for acerb attackers”. A counsel submitted that the attackers, excessively whitethorn beryllium hailing from the “lowest” strata of nine with hardly immoderate assets successful their name.
Deterrent needed
“If a idiosyncratic is recovered blameworthy of acerb attack, wherefore should each his assets not beryllium acquired and auctioned successful a transparent mode to compensate the victim. The constabulary should probe his assets, to whom they belong, etc, and taxable the details on with the chargesheet successful court, which should bid an embargo connected creating 3rd enactment rights connected these assets,” Chief Justice Kant observed.
Chief Justice Kant said the authorities enactment should beryllium highly achy for the those convicted of the crime. Otherwise, punishment would not enactment arsenic a deterrent against aboriginal attacks, particularly connected young women and children, helium said.
‘Unbelievably traumatic’
The tribunal was proceeding a petition filed by acerb onslaught subsister and activistic Shaheen Malik, who said the symptom caused erstwhile acerb consumes one’s beingness and individuality is “unbelievably traumatic”.
“The symptom is truthful bad, truthful bad, that adjacent I cannot explicit it. I had 25 surgeries. The intelligence and carnal symptom is extreme. One loses a consciousness of identity. I person show successful astatine slightest 1 eye. There are galore women retired determination who are wholly unsighted and who person not got immoderate assistance from the State,” Ms. Malik said.
She informed the tribunal that her alleged attackers had precocious been acquitted by the proceedings court.
“I fought the lawsuit for 16 years. I lost. I americium filing an entreaty against the verdict successful the High Court. Can you delight archer the High Court to expedite the hearing, truthful that I don’t person to hold different 16 years. They attacked maine erstwhile I was successful my 20s, present I americium 42. I mislaid the champion years of my beingness warring the case,” Ms. Malik addressed the Bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi.
‘Legislative interventions’
Chief Justice Kant asked her to springiness a database of 4 oregon 5 lawyers she considered good, truthful that the apical tribunal could name them arsenic her ineligible assistance counsel successful the High Court.
“We volition spot that you get the champion ineligible representation,” Chief Justice Kant assured Ms. Malik.
The tribunal asked the Centre, represented by Additional Solicitor General Archana Pathak Dave, to see “legislative interventions” connected behalf of acerb onslaught survivors.
“This transgression should not beryllium seen arsenic immoderate little than dowry death. There should beryllium a shifting of onus onto the accused. Again, wherefore should this transgression beryllium portion of the wide sentencing policy? Why don’t you see carving retired an exception?” Chief Justice Kant asked the Centre’s instrumentality officer.
The Bench directed States to furnish a database of the incidents of acerb attacks reported yearly, the fig of chargesheets filed, cases decided, pending appeals, little particulars of each victim, their world qualifications, existent employment and marital status, aesculapian treatmen, and details of expenses incurred oregon committed by the State rehabilitation strategy for victims of acerb attack, if any. It besides sought details separately of victims who were forcefully made to ingest acid.
The tribunal asked the States to supply details of immoderate peculiar strategy tally by them for survivors.
Reports from 15 High Courts submitted successful the apical tribunal showed that the maximum fig of pending cases of acerb attacks were successful Uttar Pradesh astatine 198, followed by 160 successful West Bengal, 114 successful Gujarat, 68 successful Bihar, and 58 successful Maharashtra.
