The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) has issued notices to district magistrates of each district of the Capital seeking information on the penalty imposed on acid sale in Delhi.
The Supreme Court had given several directions to the Union as well as state governments to regulate sale of acid to prevent acid attacks in India.
In this regard, the Delhi Government had passed an order for regulating sale of acid in Delhi which empowers area SDM to impose penalty of upto Rs 50,000 for violations.
DCW chief Ms. Swati Maliwal has issued notices to all district magistrates seeking information in the matter. The Commission has sought details of inspections conducted, number of penalties imposed and total amount of penalty collected by the SDMs since 2017.
The Commission has also sought details of the penalty amount presently available with district administration. Further, the Commission has sought a copy of relevant rules/guidelines regarding depositing and usage of penalty amount.
Also, the district administrations have been asked to provide details of expenditure that have been done since January 2017 out of the amount collected as penalty.
The Commission has also asked the details of any pending proposals of the district administration for usage of the penalty amount.
Maliwal stated, “Acid attack is a heinous crime, and its extremely unfortunate that acid continues to be openly sold in the Capital. A complete ban on retail sale of acid is the need of the hour. The commission through its notices is trying to fix the accountability of the district administration vis a vis unregulated sale of acid in Delhi.”
She added, “Also, the penalty amount collected by SDMs for violation of orders related to regulation of acid sale should be used for the rehabilitation of acid attack survivors. The commission is trying to ascertain whether the same is being done or not.”