Delhi HC upholds conviction of man accused of acid attack in 2009

The assault took place in 2009 when the Class 10 student was on her way to school. According to the prosecution, the accused stopped her and threw acid on her face from a steel glass.

An acid attack driven by frustration over a refusal to marry is not only among the most heinous crimes against women, but is also a blatant violation of someone’s fundamental right to live with dignity, the Delhi High Court observed as it upheld the conviction of a 27-year-old man for throwing acid on a 16-year-old girl after she rejected his marriage proposal

Delhi HC upholds conviction of man accused of acid attack in 2009

A bench of justice Neena Bansal Krishna, in a ruling released on Friday, dismissed the man’s appeal against his 2012 conviction, describing the case as an “unfortunate incident.”

The assault took place in 2009 when the Class 10 student was on her way to school. According to the prosecution, the accused stopped her and threw acid on her face from a steel glass.

The attack was the culmination of months of harassment. Seven to nine months earlier, the man had been stalking the girl and pressuring her to marry him. He even took her to court under false pretences and had her sign documents. When she ultimately refused to marry him, he retaliated with the acid attack.

The trial court had convicted him under Indian Penal Code sections 341 (wrongful restraint) and 326 (causing grievous hurt by dangerous means) and sentenced him to five years’ imprisonment in July 2012. He was later released on bail in October that year.

While the man challenged his conviction on grounds of contradictions in witness statements, the victim sought an enhancement of the sentence, citing that he attacked her again with a surgical blade while out on bail.

Delhi Police told the court that the acid attack caused 15 to 18% superficial deep burns, leaving the victim with lasting trauma and mental agony.

Rejecting the appeal, the court said, “Attacking a victim with acid out of frustration over refusal to marry is one of the most heinous crimes against women and a blatant violation of human dignity… such cases are a direct attack on human rights, particularly the right to life and dignity.”

The court observed that acid attack victims face lifelong trauma, enduring both physical pain and emotional scars. It refused to enhance the punishment, noting the convict had already been sentenced to seven years in the separate case of the later blade attack, but directed him to surrender within 10 days.