Centre Agrees Before Supreme Court To Give Railway Concession For Acid Attack Survivors 'In Principle'

The Centre today informed Supreme Court that it will in principle introduce a policy offering railway fare concessions to acid attack survivors travelling to cities for regular treatment at specialized hospitals.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana took note of the submissions of Additional Solicitor General Archana Pathak Dave, appearing for the Ministry of Railways. Court has directed the draft policy be put on record within six weeks.

ASG Dave informed the bench that a meeting was held and it has been decided in principle that the acid attack survivors can be given railway concessions. Court was further informed that Centre proposes to extend the benefit under the "patient category" as it has reservations about placing acid attack survivors in a separate category among persons with disabilities.

“I can inform 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.

“Putting them in the disabled category, that has now been statutorily resolved, with the amendment through another petition before us,” the CJI said referring to an amendment notified in the law to extend the benefits of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, to acid attack survivors who suffer from only internal injuries without any external disfigurement.

“They are in the disabled category, but we will give them concession under the patient category because they require it for the purpose of going to the doctor and for their treatment. We are still deliberating, but under the disabled category, because we are not giving this concession to all disabled persons, then the other categories would also come and say that the concession should be given to them as well,” ASG Dave further said.

Recently court had sought the views of the Centre on the plea seeking concessional air-conditioned class rail fare for acid attack survivors to enable them to travel to well-equipped hospitals in cities for treatment.

PIL petitioner Atijeevan Society had told court that said such survivors have to undertake multiple visits to super-speciality hospitals for treatment for almost four to five years.

The counsel said that 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.

Court had then asked the Ministry to see whether acid attack victims can be included in the category of patients like thalassemia and cancer to ensure that they can also avail the concession in rail tickets to get treatment.

The plea argued that rehabilitation of acid attack survivors 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.

It thus has prayed for inclusion of acid attack survivors within the PwD category to make them entitled to a concession in rail fare.