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VOL. 7, ISSUE 6 (2021)
Acid attack: Gender violence against women an Indian-legal perspective
Authors
Subodh K Singh
Abstract
Acid attacks on women have become the most burning area and are considered to be the nastiest and the most atrocious kind of violence committed on weaker sex with an intention to disfigure or kill her. It can also be called as the gender based violence against women. According to the National Commission of India acid attack is “any act of throwing acid or using acid in any form on the victim with the intention of or with knowledge that such person is likely to cause to the other person permanent or partial damage or deformity or disfiguration to any part of the body of such person” India has the highest number of acid attacks globally every year, and despite the stringent actions taken by the Indian Government and the Supreme Court of India, the crime of Acid attacks targeting women victims are growing menace in India. Until recently there was no specific legal safeguard to deal with this menace under criminal law. Courts depending upon the nature of case and facts nature of injuries inflected and after examining the state of mind of the accused used to invoke provisions of law relating to hurt, grievous hurt, attempt to murder and sometimes even that of homicide. The situation improved substantially after the 2013 Criminal Amendment Act, Which made acid attack a separate offence under the Indian Penal Code (IPC, § 326 A, 1860) and strengthened the compensatory mechanism. It provided that the fine imposed on perpetrators should be awarded as compensation to victims, and that such compensation would be in addition to the compensation provided by the Indian (State) Government via victim compensation scheme (IPC, § 326 A, 1860; Criminal Procedure Code, § 357 A-B, 1973). The Amendment Act also prescribes a minimum duration for imprisonment for both attempted (7 years) and completed acid attacks (10 years) (IPC, § 326 A-B, 1860), and provides free treatment for acid attack victims (Criminal Procedure Code, § 357C, 1973). In spite of novel change in the law, India still need a comprehensive law to deal with crime of acid attack.
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Pages:85-87
How to cite this article:
Subodh K Singh "Acid attack: Gender violence against women an Indian-legal perspective ". International Journal of Law, Vol 7, Issue 6, 2021, Pages 85-87
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