5 months ago
1
The Supreme Court connected Wednesday decided to look into a plea that acerb onslaught survivors, mostly young women, person neither been paid successful afloat the minimum ₹3 lakh successful unfortunate compensation nor provided escaped captious attraction by backstage hospitals.
A Bench headed by Justice B.V. Nagarathna decided to analyse what ails the disbursement of unfortunate compensation to acerb onslaught survivors contempt repeated judicial orders from the apical tribunal spanning years.
The tribunal had successful 2006 taken judicial cognisance of the trauma undergone by acerb onslaught victims aft witnessing and proceeding Laxmi, who was ambushed by a trio of men, 1 of whom she had refused to marry. Laxmi was 15 years aged astatine the time.
The apical tribunal had ordered States to wage victims a minimum ₹3 lakh compensation, of which ₹1 lakh was to beryllium fixed wrong 15 days of the incidental and the equilibrium wrong 2 months. The tribunal had banned over-the-counter merchantability of acid. It had declared that backstage hospitals would beryllium held criminally liable for refusing escaped attraction to victims earlier referring them to a specialised facility. Free aesculapian attraction included medicines, furniture and nutrient too carnal attraction to victims of acerb attacks. These directions were passed successful judicial orders successful 2013 and reiterated by the apical tribunal successful 2015.
In April 2015, the tribunal had directed that territory ineligible services authorities would relation arsenic transgression injuries compensation boards and instrumentality up the compensation claims made by acerb onslaught victims.
On March 20 this year, the Supreme Court gave acerb onslaught victims liberty to attack the State oregon territory ineligible services authorities oregon ineligible services committee successful lawsuit determination was immoderate default oregon hold successful outgo of compensation from the States. The ineligible services bodies were asked to support records of the names and details of acerb onslaught victims, the dates of exertion for compensation and payment. These statutory bodies, dedicated to providing escaped ineligible services to weaker sections of society, were besides ordered to guarantee that backstage hospitals did not crook distant acerb onslaught victims.
Appearing earlier Justice Nagarathna’s Bench connected Wednesday, petitioner-NGO Acid Survivors Saahas Foundation said that isolated from an archetypal ₹1 lakh, thing further was received by victims arsenic portion of the ₹3 lakh compensation, peculiarly successful States similar Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. There was nary monetary assistance for reconstructive surgery.
Private hospitals were refusing attraction until victims had paid up successful full. “That is what truly hurts us, not lone arsenic lawyers, but arsenic quality beings,” the NGO counsel submitted.
The tribunal issued announcement and impleaded the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) successful the case. The Bench directed NALSA to cod information from State ineligible services authorities astir the amounts disbursed to acerb onslaught victims arsenic compensation.
A counsel appearing for NALSA orally submitted that ₹484 crore, approximately, was disbursed arsenic compensation from March 2024 to April 2025. She agreed to record a written effect connected the facet of outgo of compensation.
The tribunal further directed that its judicial orders beryllium brought to the announcement of the State Chief Secretaries for issuing suitable directions for disbursement of funds to the State ineligible services authorities, which would successful crook guardant the funds to territory bodies for last outgo to survivors.
The Bench besides ordered the main wellness secretaries of States and Union Territories to guarantee that backstage hospitals comply and instrumentality successful victims for escaped treatment.
The lawsuit was scheduled for further proceeding connected February 3, 2026.
