DCW issues notice to official for violation of rules on sale of acid in Delhi

New Delhi, Oct 4 The Delhi Commission for Women has issued a notice to the divisional commissioner of the Delhi government and has demanded action against those SDMs who have failed to implement the rules for the sale of acid in their jurisdiction.

The commission has told the divisional commissioner that acid is being sold openly in the capital and many acid attack cases in Delhi come to their notice every day. The commission has asked to be informed about the steps taken to control the sale of acid in Delhi as well as action taken against the departmental officers of Shahdara and North district for not conducting a single inspection in the last six years.

Action has also been sought against the SDMs of five districts East, North, New Delhi, North East and Shahdara for not levying penalty on illegal acid sale since 2017. The commission has sought a detailed report on the utilization of Rs 36.5 lakh collected since 2017 as fine for the rehabilitation of acid attack victims.

DCW chairperson Swati Maliwal said the sale of acid is going on openly in the capital. It is unfortunate that the concerned officials are not properly investigating the uncontrolled sale of acid. Two districts have failed to conduct a single inspection in this regard in the last six years and five districts have failed to impose even a single penalty since 2017. Clearly this serious issue of acid sale is not being looked into on priority, she added.

The fact that the Rs 36.5 lakh collected as fine in six years is lying in the bank when it can be used for rehabilitation of acid attack survivors, is very unfortunate. We have sought a report on the investigation done so far in this matter and I hope positive changes will be made in this regard soon, Maliwal stated.

The Supreme Court in the case of 'Lakshmi Vs Union of India and others' has issued several directions to the Central as well as state governments to regulate the sale of acid to prevent acid attacks in the country. In this regard, the Delhi government had passed an order to control the sale of acid, authoriing the sub-divisional magistrate of the area to impose a fine of up to Rs 50,000 for violation of rules.

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