LAXMI v. UNION OF INDIA DISHA GUPTA LANDMARK JUDGMENT Thu, Oct 24, 2019, at ,12:08 PM Citation- 2014 SCC 4 427 Date of Judgement- 10 April 2015 Bench- Justice Madan B. Lokur, Justice Uday Umesh Lalit “Each time a woman stands for herself, she stands for all women.”- Maya Angelou The incident of an acid attack has been an increasing phenomenon in India where most of the victims of the offense are women. These attacks can be attributed to various social factors such as weakness of women in such a male-dominated country like India. FACTS In this case, a girl who was going to her office from her home was called by someone. Once she looked back she saw people on a bike known to her. One of them was a boy with whom she got a proposal for marriage but she denied, but before she gets anything, acid was thrown to her. After this, her upper body was fully destroyed and she faced a lot of mental trauma as well as physical pain. Even after many surgeries, she could not get her looks back. After this, a criminal case for an attempt to murder was filed against the accused persons and they got convicted by the court of Delhi. The person convicted later got bail from High Court. This led the victim in shock. The reason given by the courts in giving bail was that the courts have no idea about the severity of such a situation. This led the victim to file Public Interest Litigation in Supreme Court with the help of her family, friend, and her lawyer with prayers related to various issues like the easy availability of acid and its attack cases, expensive surgeries and medical expenses, rehabilitation help for acid attack survivors. It is a tough battle which the survivor has to face and this required proper assistance from the government. The outcome of this Public Interest Litigation was that many orders were passed by the legislations and guidelines passed by the Supreme Court of India for the betterment of acid attack survivors. ISSUES RAISED For making considerable amendments in the Indian Penal Code,1860 and Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 relating to Acid attacks. A complete ban on the sale of acid and its various forms also such acids should not be available over the counter. Prosecution of acid throwers as well as the rehabilitation of acid attack victims which included treatment as well as compensation. Judgment The outcome led to several orders being passed which led to the guidelines being passed for the betterment of acid attack survivors. Meetings were held in the presence of secretary in the ministry of home affairs, Government of India, and the secretary in the ministry of health and family welfare, Government of India with its all chief secretaries collected data from all over India of acid attack cases and filed the affidavit in court for the same. After the compilation of such data, it came that the number of acid attacks was great in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat wherein Delhi being the only Union territory where such heinous crime took place. The following amendments took place after this judgment- Amendment in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 in which section 357-A was inserted for the compensation to the victim or their dependents, prepare a scheme for providing funds to all those who have suffered loss or injury due to such an acid attack and need rehabilitation. Amendment was also made in Indian Penal Code, 1860 wherein two sections 326-A and 326-B were inserted exclusively dealing with acid attack. The victim compensation scheme got notified in all states and union territories of India. Amendment of Cr.P.C led to the insertion of section 357C which is all hospitals whether private or public run by central, state government or local bodies should provide the first aid or medical treatment free of cost. Supreme Court directed for the minimum compensation of 3,00,000/- to every acid attack victim in all states and union territories. The state government issued a ban on the sale of acid and declared acid as “poison” and which would not be easily available. The victim compensation scheme was also initiated by the government with the help of legal services authority so that each acid attack victim could take benefit from such an initiation. No hospital/clinic can refuse for treatment of an acid attack victim and if any such complaint is made, the victim can take further appropriate legal action. CONCLUSION Laxmi’s case not only gave her a new voice but also inspired thousands of other people to take a stand and put forward their stance and their opinions. Her step towards this issue changed the way we look at victims as they are not victims but conquerors who despite all of their issues and difficulties do not hesitate to come forward and let the world know about their stories for the sole purpose of motivating others and spreading awareness. “I raise up my voice not so I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard ... We cannot succeed when half of us are held back.”- Malala Yousafzai