Man gets life term for acid attack on woman
26 Oct 2007 The Times of
While sentencing the convict, Yashpal, additional sessions judge Sanjay Sharma said: "The act of the convict had destroyed a life... This act cannot be forgiven and any compensation to the victim cannot be enough."
The court justified why Yashpal deserved nothing less than the maximum punishment prescribed under Section 326 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt by weapons or means) of IPC: "This is a case of an overzealous lover who could not get his love, and out of sheer frustration threw acid on the victim's face... it has reduced the victim to nothing but a moving mass of bones and flesh."
The judge was visibly moved when he was shown old photographs of the girl and then her disfigured face. She lifted her veil when asked by her counsel, N K S Bhadauria, to do so during the arguments on the quantum of sentence.
"A beautiful creation of God has been turned into an eyesore by the convict when he failed to persuade her parents to let her marry him," was the instant reaction of the judge.
Yashpal's fervent plea for leniency on the ground that he had earlier offered to marry the victim, Renu, had little effect on the court.
"The act of the convict is so grave that no amount of compensation can compensate the victim for the trauma which she suffered and the injuries which have left a permanent mark on her soul and body," the judge noted.
Earlier, the victim’s counsel had called for maximum sentence to be imposed on the accused, saying his heinous act had permanently scarred the victim’s life.
"I seek the maximum sentence to be imposed on the convict," Bhadauria said.
What about rehabilitation?
‘Help Acid Victims Rebuild Life’
The Times of
Various women’s organisations and prominent lawyers have lauded the judgement, which awarded life term to the culprit and pronounced a compensation of Rs 25,000 to the girl. But they have also called for rehabilitation schemes for such victims to help them rebuild their lives.
‘‘An acid attack victim, who gets completely deformed, needs continuous medical treatment, emotional help and monitory aid,’’ said lawyer Aparna Bhatt.
Added Malini Bhattacharya, a member of National Commission for Women: ‘‘We have been seeking the most stringent punishment for such actions and welcome such a judgment. The girl’s life has been ruined as she became permanently disabled after the acid attack. The commission has been regularly holding talks with the government in order to provide rehabilitation and treatment packages to acid attack victims.’’
Hopefully, such judgments will act as a deterrent to people who think they can get away after committing such crimes, she said.
A scheme prepared by the NCW seeks to create a forum to deal with acid attack crimes. It proposes an insurance scheme for the treatment and rehabilitation of the victims. Advocate Aparna Bhatt, who has drafted this proposal for the NCW, says extending this security to victims was crucial to undo the damage to some extent.‘‘The scheme will provide medical insurance cover and monetary compensation to all victims of acid attack,’’said Bhatt.
Some were of the opnion that the Rs 25,000 given to the acid attack victim on Thursday was too meagre a compensation for someone who has lost her vision. ‘‘The state government should also compensate such victims as Rs 25,000 is too little an amount to last a lifetime. The law needs to be amended for acid attack victims. A person who suffers permanent disability needs to be compensated for a livelihood,’’ said noted lawyer, Shilpi Jain.
‘‘With such cases becoming quite frequent, the judgment will send out the right message. An acid attack is worse than killing a person as the survivor has to live with a deformity,’’ she added.
But under the present law, acid attacks that deform people for life are either tried under Section 307 (attempt to murder) or Section 326 (for voluntarily causing grevious hurt) of IPC. So such attackers, even if brought to book, can get bail from the court. It depends on the judge to give maximum punishment, which is life imprisonment, under Section 326.
With Thanks from THE TIMES OF
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