'Emotional Circulars Won't Stop Acid Sales': Supreme Court Pulls Up Centre Over Rising Attacks

• by Akanksha Mishra
• 2026-10-28 08:02:00

Expressing grave concern over the continuing spate of heinous acid violence across the country, the Supreme Court of India pulled up the central government, declaring that merely dispatching circulars couched in sentimental language will never achieve the objective of halting unregulated over-the-counter acid sales. A three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice V. Mohana firmly told the Union government that it cannot abdicate its sovereign duty by merely circulating advisories and washing its hands of responsibility by leaving enforcement entirely to individual states. The apex court noted that if gruesome crimes persist unabated despite existing protocols, it serves as undeniable proof that the prevailing regulatory framework is deeply flawed and has broken down at the ground level.

Policy Has Completely Failed: Apex Court Holds Enforcement Machinery Accountable

The top court delivered pointed oral observations scrutinizing the operational lethargy of executive agencies in policing lethal chemicals:

Policy Breakdown Highlighted: The bench orally remarked that the continued occurrence of such horrifying attacks despite prior guidelines proves that the current regulatory structure has completely collapsed in practice.

Lack of Accountability Questioned: The bench asked the Centre why it had never issued a formal inquiry to any state government demanding explanations for repeated attacks occurring under their watch, emphasizing that zero-tolerance accountability must be enforced upon ground-level regulatory officials.

Beyond Merely Advising States: The judges stressed that sending periodic advisories to state administrations without a mandatory monitoring and compliance mechanism reduces statutory safeguards to dead letters on paper.

Centre Concedes Weak Ground Enforcement: ASG Admits Retail Compliance Gaps

Representing the Union of India, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Archana Pathak Dave acknowledged systemic bottlenecks in monitoring local trade:

Admission of Poor Implementation: The ASG candidly admitted before the bench that although comprehensive guidelines restricting the retail sale of acid were notified and shared with all states—prompting the framing of local statutory rules—their ground-level execution and enforcement remain exceptionally weak.

Easy Over-the-Counter Access: Unlicensed neighborhood hardware stores, chemical traders, and local shops continue to sell concentrated corrosive substances openly without demanding verified government identity cards or logging end-user purchase registers as mandated by law.

Directed to File Concrete Affidavit: Hearing on Shaheen Malik's Welfare Petition

Disturbed by the brutality inflicted upon victims, the Supreme Court demanded actionable solutions from the administration:

Affidavit Ordered: The bench directed the central government to submit a comprehensive compliance affidavit outlining tangible, enforceable measures to completely curb the illegal accessibility and misuse of market acid.

PIL by Survivor Shaheen Malik: The proceedings stem from a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) spearheaded by acid attack survivor and activist Shaheen Malik, which petitions the judiciary to officially categorize acid attack survivors under the benchmark disability category to ensure they receive statutory reservations, medical allowances, and state rehabilitation benefits.

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