Travel concession for acid victims: SC asks social justice dept to take part in policy framing

Travel concession for acid victims: SC asks social justice dept to take part in policy framing

New Delhi, The Supreme Court on Wednesday called for active participation of the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities in formulating a policy to grant railway travel concessions to acid attack survivors so they can travel to well-equipped hospitals for treatment.

Travel concession for acid victims: SC asks social justice dept to take part in policy framing

A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana took note of the submissions that a draft policy has been framed by the Centre in consultation with other stakeholders, including the petitioner, the NGO Atijeevan Society.

The CJI said the department, under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, should also be associated in formulation of the final policy. The bench then posted the matter for further consideration.

On August 13, the Centre told the bench that it has agreed in principle to formulate a policy to grant the concessions to acid attack survivors.

The apex court asked the Ministry of Railways to consider the issue of granting the concessions liberally. It also asked Additional Solicitor General Archana Pathak Dave to file the draft policy on record within six weeks.

"I can inform them that they will put the acid attack victims in the patient category because they have some reservations about putting them under the disabled category as others in that disabled category are not given railway concessions, " she added.

On July 16, the bench sought the Centre's views on a plea seeking concessional air-conditioned class rail fare for acid attack survivors. It asked Dave to take requisite instructions from the ministry on the issue.

Dave had earlier said that there are 21 categories of persons with disabilities and the railways is already providing travel concessions to them. She said the railways is also contemplating providing an emergency travel quota for all categories of PwDs.

The counsel for the PIL petitioner said such survivors have to undertake multiple visits to super-speciality hospitals for treatment for almost four to five years.

He said persons who have been forced to ingest acid face difficulty in getting medical certificates to seek a railway reservation. Moreover, they are asked to get such certificates from the treating hospitals to claim reservation, which is difficult, he added.

Earlier, the bench had issued a notice to the Centre on the PIL seeking a separate reservation quota and concessional railway fares for acid attack survivors.

"Due to the nature of the burn injuries, persistent itching, and especially after undergoing surgery, acid attack survivors often need to travel by train in AC coaches.

"However, they cannot afford the high cost of AC tickets for frequent travels and due to the existing framework, they can neither avail themselves of the earmarked quota otherwise available to PwDs nor the concessional railway fare facility," the PIL said.

It said their rehabilitation necessitated multiple reconstructive surgeries, advanced ophthalmic interventions and prolonged post-operative care, which are available only at a handful of elite tertiary institutions in metropolitan cities like Delhi, Chennai and Hyderabad.

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