Punishment for forcibly administering acid must be stricter than under UAPA : SC

The Supreme Court on Thursday (December 11, 2025) said criminals who forcibly administer acid to their victims, mostly women, in abusive marital homes deserve punishment more stringent than under anti-terror laws such as the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant was hearing a petition filed by an acid attack survivor, Shaheen Malik, seeking specifically to bring survivors who were made to ingest acid, and with a criminal case registered against their attackers, to be brought under the protective umbrella of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.

The Chief Justice asked the Centre to change the penal and bail laws to punish the perpetrators of this “most ruthless, most heinous” of crimes. It said the government should consider a comprehensive policy framework to protect the survivors, who, even if they survive, require extensive and continuous medical treatment. The court said the accused, found guilty, must be made to pay a hefty penalty to their victims.

The Centre, represented by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, said such crimes were a result of sheer “animal instinct”.

Justice Joymalya Bagchi, the other judge on the Bench, explained that survivors made to ingest acid would have no visible marks on the body, but their vital organs would be corroded. They would require vital, long-term treatment which a person from a lower income background would not be able to afford.

“These people who exhibit such barbarism on a fellow human being have no right to roam around in society. They are a threat to society and to the rule of the law. Their punishment should be more stringent than under the UAPA,” Chief Justice Kant observed.

In the previous hearing on December 4, the apex court was shocked to learn that the trial in Ms. Malik’s case was pending even after 16 years. Ms. Malik, who was then 26 and pursuing MBA, was attacked outside her workplace. She had reportedly undergone 25 reconstructive surgeries. She went on to set up Brave Souls in 2021, which spread as a pan-India movement offering medical and legal support to acid attack survivors.

On Thursday, the court said steps must be taken to complete the trial in the case by December 31.