ACID ATTACK: WOMAN IN PERIL

ABSTRACT:

Women play a vital role in our culture. Every woman has her own work or responsibility in today's culture, where males are still the strongest gender,?but we must not forget that a woman's life is far more difficult than a man’s is. A woman must look after her own personal life, and if she is a mother, she must look after the lives of her children. Worse, so, if she is married, she may be under much more strain. Nonetheless, they will function admirably in the workplace, often even better than their male peers will.

Acid attacks on women are becoming more common by the day, especially among girls aged 11 to 30. Sulphuric, nitric, and hydrochloric acid are the most prevalent forms of acid used in these attacks. Local authorities and administrative agencies are implementing a number of community awareness activities to raise public knowledge about this horrible crime. This study aims to illustrate the reasons and consequences of acid attacks on unwitting women, as well as the issues and obstacles faced by the victims.

INTRODUCTION:

The intentional hurling of acid on a victim, generally on her face, is known as an acid assault. It is a horrible crime against women committed based on gender. Acid assaults cause extreme agony, lasting deformity, infections, and often blindness in one or both eyes, in addition to inflicting psychological distress. An acid assault, according to the “National Commission of India”, is "any act of throwing acid or employing acid in any form on the victim with the aim of or knowing that such person is likely to inflict permanent or partial harm, deformity, or disfiguration to any portion of such person's body."

Acid attacks have been on the rise in recent years, and as is customary, the majority of victims are women and only women. The heinous crime of assaulting individuals with acid has been occurring in many sections of the country. To exploit the lives of women, man has chosen a different path.

CONSEQUENCES OF ACID ATTACK:

The most noticeable side effect of an acid attack is permanent deformity. The acid attack is a type of violent assault in which a corrosive substance is thrown upon an individual's body with the intention of defacing it. Acid is usually hurled at the sufferer's face, which burns them and damages their skin tissue, revealing and occasionally melting their bones. The long-term effects of such an attack affect the victim's loss of vision as well as severe scarring of the face and torso. The person's life is made worse by the acid assault, which has an impact on their social, economic, and psychological well-being.

Acid assaults have a wide range of medical consequences. Because the mainstream of acid attacks are directed at the face, recovery time is dependent on the acid concentration and the length of time before the acid is completely rinsed away with water or neutralised using a neutralising agent. As the acid attacks our skin, the layer of fat underneath the skin, and in certain cases, the underlying bones, our bodies become paralysed. The eyelids and lips may be entirely obliterated, as well as the nose and ears.

WHAT IS THE LEGAL EFFECT OF ACID ATTACK?

“Sections 326A and 326B of the Indian Penal Code, 1860”, were enacted by the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013, introducing particular provisions for acid attack victims. Offenders convicted under these provisions face a minimum punishment of 10 years in prison, with the possibility of a life sentence, as well as a fine, which should compensate the victim's medical expenses.

The Eighteenth Law Commission, led by Justice A. R. Lakshaman, created “Section 326 A of the Indian Penal Code”, which makes it illegal to hurl, administer, or try to throw acid on anyone, regardless of gender, with the purpose to disfigure or maim that person permanently or partially. The following section, Section 326B, makes it illegal to hurl or administer acid to anyone.

According to Indian Penal Code Section 326A, "acid" refers to any material with an acidic or corrosive nature or a burning nature capable of causing bodily harm, scarring, deformity, or temporary or permanent incapacity. Blindness, irreversible disfiguring of the face and body, as well as far-reaching social, mental, and economic ramifications, may be long-term results of these attacks. The Indian Penal Code, “Sections 326A and 326B”, include the following punishments for an accused person:

The penalty for throwing acid is outlined in Section 326A. The minimum sentence is ten years in jail. It carries a penalty of up to life in jail and a monetary punishment.

The penalty for attempting to throw acid is outlined in Section 326 B. The minimum sentence is five years in jail. It carries a penalty of up to 7 years in jail and a fine.

This amendment includes penalty for individuals who engage in this horrible sort of crime, but it was ineffective since people continued to engage in it. As a result, the ideal penalty is eye for an eye, i.e., those who commit this act should face the same. They should come to their senses by splattering acid on themselves and their loved ones. These are the most severe penalties that may be imposed on them.

LANDMARK JUDGMENTS OF ACID ATTACK:

Because the crime of acid assault has escalated in recent years, the Supreme Court has enacted legislation prohibiting the sale of acid as held in the leading case of “Laxmi v Union of India”.

Laxmi, a 22-year-old acid assault victim, was waiting for a bus in Delhi's posh Khan Market in 2005 when after she declined to marry, she was attacked by two guys who threw acid on her. Despite the fact that the girl and her parents were destitute, a philanthropist who paid for the victim’s medical expenditures, which totalled around Rs. 2.5 lakhs, thankfully assisted them. However, the victim's physical look remains horrible even after four plastic operations, and many more procedures would be necessary to restore her physical appearance to an approximation of what it was. Of course, the victim will never look the same as she did before the tragedy.

In the case of “Devanand vs. The State”, due to the wife’s refusal to sleep with his husband, he threw acid on his estranged wife. The woman was permanently disfigured and had one eye removed. The defendant was found guilty under Section 307 and sentenced to seven years in jail.

In the case of “Jalahalli Police Station vs. Joseph Rodrigues”, the suspect was found guilty under “Section 307 of the Indian Penal Code” and condemned to life sentence. The offender was had to pay Haseena Hussain's parents Rs. 2,00,000 in compensation in addition to the Rs. 3,00,000 trial court fine. When the victim chose to quit her work, the accused Joseph Rodriguez, her ex-boss, dumped 1.5 litres of sulphuric acid on her.

Her face was melted, her shoulder and neck were joined, a hole in her brain was burned, her fingers were combined, and she was blinded for life. This was a landmark case since it was the first time that a considerable quantity of money was awarded to the victim to cover medical expenses, including cosmetic surgery. However, in many cases across India, punishment was based only on the technicality of bruising, rather than the purposeful and gruesome character of the attack.

Although no official data are available, it is claimed that 1,000 acid assaults occur in India each year. India's citizens have gotten so hardened that they didn't think twice about throwing acid on the faces of helpless women. The Indian people's hearts have become black, and they have forgotten about their family members, who may be victims of the same horrific act. What would they do if their family members face the same fate? The best penalty is tit for tat, and those who harm innocent women should receive the same punishment. They have no right to ruin other people's lives.

INDIA'S CURRENT SITUATION AND THE WORLD SCENE:

Today, the frequency of acid assaults is on the rise in many nations. The country with the most acid assaults is Bangladesh. India, Cambodia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nepal, and other countries follow suit. Acid is readily available in Pakistan, as is the conduct of assaults there. However, a few more nations, including India, have enacted legislation to regulate acid assaults as a crime.

Hydrochloric and sulphuric acid were administered in the majority of these incidents, and all of the victims were women. Though either a male or a woman can execute an acid assault, it has a distinct gender aspect in India. Women have been the target of the majority of acid attacks, typically young women who have turned down suitors.

CONCLUSION:

An acid assault has long-term effects on the victim, who will be subjected to constant pain, irreparable damage, and other issues for the rest of her life. Their lives become a gutter; they are too scared and ashamed to leave the house and perform ordinary duties, much alone marry, have children, find a job, go to school, and so on. Even if they want to live a regular life, given their looks and limitations after an assault, there is no assurance that society would consider them as normal human beings. They may be unable to work or obtain work, and hence must constantly battle to exist. As a result, in order to reduce attacks on women, people should be subjected to severe punishment so that they experience the same emotions as the victim.

The crime of an acid assault is not a minor offence; it is becoming more common by the day, therefore instead of enacting ineffective legislation, the government should take suitable measures that will really assist the victim.