Compensating losses
The loss that an acid attack survivor incurs is one that cannot ever be fully compensated.However, taking note of the fact that survivors certainly require plastic surgeries and perhaps long-term medical care, the Supreme Court released an order on 18thJuly, 2013 that a victim is entitled to a minimum sum of Rs. 3 lakhs. This order was prepared by the National Legal Services Authority, in a monetary relief grant titled “Compensation Scheme for Women Victims/Survivors of Sexual Assault and other crimes” which enables a survivor to approach their respective state or legal authorities for instantaneous compensation, immediately after the incident has taken place. This scheme handled by the State Legal Service Authority sets up and manages the compensation funds for survivors. A survivor has the right to demand a sum of Rs. 1 lakh within the first 15 days of the attack and the rest in installments thereafter. It is also important to note that a compensation is guaranteed irrespective of the court verdict of the accused- it does not matter whether the accused offender of the acid attack is acquitted or convicted.
While the minimum amount of compensation remains consistent, the maximum cap on compensating the victim is up to the discretion of each individual state government.
The idea of compensation is that while monetary relief cannot erase the atrocities of the attack on these survivors, it can give them the bare minimum to ensure a basic standard of living. However, multiple talks and interviews with acid attack survivors reveal that since laws around free medical care are not implemented properly, most if not all of the compensation money goes into medical treatments. It is crucial to understand that medical expenses and compensation are different rights that can be exercised by survivor. Medical care is supposed to be granted for free for the survivor while the compensation is to help them live a comfortable life. However, the poor implementation of Section 357C created further problems with Compensation as well.