Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, August 10: The state health and family welfare department has instructed Home department officials to implement the Supreme Court order suggesting free treatment to acid attack victims in hospitals and clinics.
Interestingly, the apex court order was passed in April, 2015 and it took the Health and Family Welfare department four months to issue a directive in this regard to the Home department.
Notably, the Supreme Court April 11, 2015 directed private hospitals to provide free treatment, including specialised surgeries, to acid attack victims and asked government authorities to take action against them if they fail to comply with its order. After laying down a stringent regulatory mechanism for sale of acid to curb acid attacks on women, the court asked private hospitals to bear the entire cost of medical treatment of acid attack survivors, including costly plastic and corrective surgeries. A social justice bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and U U Lalit said hospitals must also provide free medicine, food and other facilities to such victims.
The court last year enhanced compensation payable by state governments to acid attack victims to a uniform `3 lakh from the earlier `50,000. It had directed states to implement stringent norms for retail sale of acid, treating it as poison under the Poisons Act, 1919, within three months.
The court had also banned sale of acid to minors and said the corrosive substance could be sold only to those with identity cards issued by the government and who could specify the purpose for the purchase. The apex court had also asked the Centre and states to make acid attack offences non-bailable.