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NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that acid attackers who forcibly make victims ingest acid must be prosecuted for attempt to murder rather than under provisions related to causing grievous hurt. A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi said such offences demand the strictest legal response.“There should not be any second opinion. These matters must be tried on the provision of 307 (Attempt to Murder: Section 307 of erstwhile IPC, Section 109 in BNS). In the penal laws also an exception can be added in most heinous and inhumane cases,” said CJI Kant, as quoted by ANI. He added, “These people (attackers) have no right to roam in society. They are a threat to society, threat to civilian people and a threat to the rule of law.”The bench made the observations while hearing a PIL filed by Shaheen Malik, a 2009 acid-attack survivor and founder of the Brave Souls Foundation. Malik has asked the court to ensure that victims of forceful acid ingestion are recognised and included in the definition of “acid attack victims” under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act. Malik was 26 and working as a student counsellor at Punjab Technical University when she was attacked in 2009. A masked man threw a corrosive liquid at her face, causing burns on 90 percent of her face and body and leaving her with life-altering injuries.
