HC agrees to hear plea to regularise sale of acid

Delhi High Court today agreed to hear a PIL alleging that failure on part of the Centre and city government to regularise the sale of acid in the national capital, despite Supreme Court directions, has led to several acid attacks here.
A bench of justices Badar Durrez Ahmed and Sanjeev Sachdeva, however, refused to give an urgent hearing to the petition filed by an NGO Chhanv Foundation.
The petition which said "there is an urgent need to curb the acid attack menace" has sought directions to the Centre and Delhi government to not only regularise the sale of acid but also "to issue a concrete policy for the relief and rehabilitation of the acid attack victims".

The plea, which was mentioned before the bench by advocate Gaurav Kumar Bansal, is likely to come up for hearing next week.
The PIL has submitted that the apex court "had issued various directions to the respondents (Centre and city govt) to curb the acid attack menace.
"However, it is pertinent to mention here that despite of the said directions the National Capital has noticed several acid attacks recently which have shocked the conscience of the public at large."

In a slew of directions passed by the apex court in July 2013, over-the-counter sale of acid was completely prohibited unless the seller maintains a record containing details of persons to whom acid was sold and the quantity.

It had further directed that acid shall not be sold to any person below 18 years of age and sellers would have to give it only after the buyer has shown a photo ID, address proof and had specified the reason for procuring acid.
The court had also instructed the sellers that all stocks of acid must be declared by them with the concerned Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) within 15 days.
"In case of undeclared stock of acid, it will be open to the concerned SDM to confiscate the stock and suitably impose fine on such seller upto Rs 50,000," it had said.