New Delhi: A gift to the victims of acid attacks, when Hon’ble Apex Court issued direction to the Private Hospital to treat such acid attacks’ victims for free of cost. Such private hospitals are now to bear the costs of medical treatment including costly plastic and corrective surgeries.
On April 10th, hon’ble Supreme Court of India issued such direction to the private hospitals and in addition also directed them for specialized surgeries to be provided to such acid victims. The Court has also require the Government Authorities to secure the compliance of the order and take actions against the Private hospitals if they failed to comply with such direction.
The Court has taken this very important decision after having provided a stringent regulatory mechanism against the selling of acid. These all has been done to provide protections to the women who are being subjected to acid attacks.
After laying down a stringent regulatory mechanism for sale of acid to curb acid attacks on women, the court asked private hospitals to bear the entire cost of medical treatment of acid attack survivors, including costly plastic and corrective surgeries.
Hon’ble Apex Court’s social justice bench comprising of Justice Madan B. Lokur and Justice Uday U. Lalit passed the aforesaid order providing such free treatment facility to the acid victims. They also declared free medicines, food and other facilities to such victims. Further, the Private Hospitals who firstly attend the victim of acid attack are directed by the Court that to issue Certificates as to such victim approached to the hospital which will be useful to claim future benefits by such victims.
It was seen that the Central Government had informed the Court, meanwhile that there were 309 cases of acid attacks registered in the year 2014 and out of said cases 185 cases were from the State of Uttar Pradesh-UP and the State of Madhya Pradesh- MP found registering second highest number of cases i.e. 57. And in Delhi the number is 27 except which in no other Union territory the cases of acid attack were reported in the year 2014. As such, notably, there is four times increase the average number of acid attacks in the year 2014, to the attacks which were found in the year 2011, 2012 and 2013 when the numbers were 83, 85 and 66.
It was further informed from the side of Central Government that there was convened a meeting of State Health Secretaries for framing policies to curb selling of acid and stepping to provide such free treatments to the victims thereof.
The Apex Court has directed the State Governments to pay rupees 3 lakhs as compensation or financial relief to the victims of acid attacks which was lower in the recent past period (i.e. 60 thousands rupees).
by Faim Khalilkhan Pathan.