The Centre has one week to regulate the sale of acid in the country, before the Supreme Court takes matters in its own hands.

The court has been hearing a 2006 public interest litigation, which seeks an absolute ban on the sale of acid due to increasing incidents of such attack on women. More than 500 cases of acid attacks are reported annually on an average across India; Just last month, Delhi resident Preeti Rathi passed away after an man hurled acid on her face soon after she alighted off a train in Mumbai.

“People are dying, but you are not worried about it,” a bench headed by Justice RM Lodha said. “Think of people who are losing their lives every day. Girls are being attacked everyday in different parts of the country.”

The Court has been asking the government since 2006 to regulate the sale of acid; on April 16, the court said that it would wait for the Centre and the state governments to explore ways to regulate the sale of acid for domestic use before it imposes a ban on the chemical. However, in the nearly four months that have elapsed since, no scheme or guidelines have been issued. The court made it clear that if a scheme regulating acid sale is not announced by July 16, then it would pass necessary orders.

“…neither of them (central or state governments) are serious on the issue. This is the last opportunity, failing which we will pass necessary orders.”

The court had earlier reprimanded the Centre and the states for not doing enough and asked them to show progress on steps taken. It had sought an increased compensation package of Rs 3 lakh for victims for treatment and rehabilitation. The bench had said that for evolving such a policy, the secretary of ministry of chemical and fertilisers, and secretaries concerned from the states should be involved.

“We could draw lessons from Bangladesh, which regulated the sale of acid in the open market since 2002, significantly bringing down the prevalence of the crime,” states the petition filed by Delhi resident Laxmi.

Laxmi was a minor when three youths hurled acid on her because she had refused to marry one of them. The attack left Laxmi’s arms, face and body parts disfigured.