J&K court awards life term to man in 2022 acid attack case, terms act ‘brutal, inhuman’

Srinagar, Mar 6 (PTI) A city court on Wednesday handed over life term to a man convicted of an acid attack on a 26-year-old woman in February 2022 and also imposed a fine of Rs 40 lakh on him, describing the offence as “brutal and inhuman”.

The court did not accept the defence plea seeking leniency in the matter by arguing that convict Sajid Rather was young and a first-time offender.

“The court awarded life imprisonment to the convict while terming the case a brutal and inhuman act. The accused Sajid Rather has been convicted under 326 A (voluntarily causing grievous hurt by use of acid) and section 34 (common intent) of IPC.

“The court has also imposed a fine or Rs 40 lakh. The fine can be recovered from his property. Fine imposed under section 421 (1) (b),” victim’s counsel Mir Naveed Gul said.

Under section 421 (1)(B) of the Criminal Procedure Code, the court issues a warrant to the district collector authorising him/her to realise the amount as arrears of land revenue from the movable or immovable property, or both, of the accused.

Gul, who was among the panel lawyers for the victim as assigned by the Srinagar district legal services authority, said “justice has prevailed”. “I hope this judgement will act as a deterrent”.

The Jammu and Kashmir Police had filed a 1,000-page charge sheet in the case against three people Sajid Altaf Rather and Mohammad Saleem Kumar alias Tota and a juvenile.

The police prayed that the juvenile be treated as an adult as per the amended Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, whereby those in the age group of 16-18 can be tried under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) if they are accused of heinous crimes.

Principal Sessions Judge Jawad Ahmad said when the loss and trauma suffered by the victim are compared with the mitigating circumstances and the “chance” of Rather’s rehabilitation, his horrible act outweighs any “hypothetical” chance of his rehabilitation.
“Keeping in view the plight of the victim, one would feel that the ancient theory of punishment vis. Eye for an eye would only meet the ends of justice in this case but that is not permissible now in the civilised society like ours which is governed by the law,” the Judge noted.

The victim was attacked in downtown Srinagar on February 1 2022 by two people, including the juvenile, who wanted to “teach her a lesson and take revenge” on her for spurning Rather’s marriage proposal.

The judge said the impact of the Sulphuric Acid, which can dissolve most metals, was such that the bone of the right side of her forehead was exposed, and the nose, eyes, and whole face got badly damaged.

“Despite 23 surgeries she has undergone as on date, the damage has not been repaired nor there are chances of its full repair,” it said.

Coming from a low-income family of a tailor, the victim had received some money from Legal Aid. At the same time, her mother had to sell her home to get some money for her treatment, public prosecutor Ajaz Hussain told the court during the sentencing hearing.

“If the convict is not awarded the maximum punishment provided under law, the victim will remain under this constant fear that the moment the convict would come out he may take revenge on her by doing any act more heinous than the present act and this would make the victim feel insecure,” Hussain argued.

Rather’s lawyers pleaded for leniency, saying he was young and a first-time offender.

Rejecting the plea, the Judge noted, “If this argument is accepted then what would happen to the victim, a young girl who was possessing a beautiful physique before the occurrence. She has now to carry the hideously disfigured face all along her life, who has lost hope forever to lead a normal life including the loss of chance of marriage etc. for none of her fault.”

The judge noted that the victim’s “badly” affected eyesight would make her a prisoner in her own house and no one can imagine the plight of her parents. Every day, they have to look at the mangled face of their daughter and they have also to live their life with this emotional trauma, he said.

“Someone capable of holding such a harmful and hateful mentality and the capability to willingly go through with it over a matter as trivial as envy and jealousy cannot be trusted to be reintegrated into the society,” the court said.

The court noted that the chilling evening of February 1 became the darkest and blackest evening of her life when, by the horrific acts of the convict, all hopes and dreams of her future got lost.

Handing over the maximum punishment of life term to Rather and penalty of Rs 40 lakh to be paid to the victim, the Judge said that in such circumstances, the court is compelled to prioritise the sufferings of the victim as against the convict’s potential for change and need to take a resolute stand against the convict.