Supreme Court Directs States/Union Territories To Release Pending Compensation To Acid Attack Victims By March 10

The Supreme Court today directed states and Union Territories to release funds for payment of compensation to acid attack victims whose applications have already been approved, after being informed that court orders allowing compensation were remaining ineffective due to non-release of funds by governments.

“Wherever approval has been granted for payment of victim compensation to the victims of the acid attack and communication has been made by the District/State Legal Services Authority or the Union Territory Legal Services Authority to the respective departments of the state government, steps shall be taken for releasing the outstanding amounts to the victims whose applications have been cleared on or before 10th March 2026, and an affidavit in that regard shall be filed”, the Court ordered.

A bench of Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan passed the order while hearing a PIL seeking strict implementation of the guidelines laid down in Laxmi v. Union of India and adequate compensation and rehabilitation for acid attack survivors.

In Laxmi v. Union of India, the Supreme Court directed that acid attack victims should be paid a minimum of ₹3,00,000 as compensation, under the Victim Compensation Schemes through the District Legal Services Authorities.

It also held that comprehensive medical treatment, including free treatment in public and private hospitals, must be provided to survivors, and directed the States to regulate the sale of acid and corrosive substances to prevent such attacks.

On December 3, 2025, the Court had directed NALSA to coordinate with state and district legal services authorities to ensure timely payment of compensation in line with the 2014 judgment in Laxmi v. Union of India. On that day, NALSA had submitted that approximately Rs. 484 crore had been disbursed to acid attack victims between April 2024 and March 2025.

Today, appearing for the National Legal Services Authority, Advocate Rashmi Nandakumar submitted that even where district or state legal services authorities had approved compensation, funds were not being released by the state or Union Territory governments, resulting in victims not receiving the amounts.

It was explained that while a consolidated amount is released to state legal services authorities at the beginning of the financial year, this gets exhausted within a few months, and subsequent approved applications are sent to the state for individual disbursal. NALSA requested the court to direct states to release the pending amounts within a fixed timeframe so that the money could be transferred to district authorities and paid to victims.

Justice Nagarathna remarked that allowing applications without funds served no purpose.

Taking note of the submissions, the Court directed all states and Union Territories to disburse funds to the state legal services authorities for onward payment to acid attack victims.

“Firstly, we direct the states/Union Territories to disburse the funds to the State Legal Services Authorities for the aforesaid purpose. Secondly, the Secretary of the State / Union Territory social welfare department shall file the necessary affidavit with regard to the amounts that that have already been disbursed and are to be disbursed for the current financial year, 2025-26”, the order stated.

During the hearing, counsel for the petitioner raised a grievance that victims were often asked to obtain court orders or furnish FIRs before their compensation applications were processed, which was discouraging to acid attack victims. She sought a clarification or observation from the court to discourage such practices.

Advocate Nandakumar for NALSA responded that it was not aware of such instances but assured the court that she would personally look into any specific information provided.

In its order, the Court requested NALSA to issue appropriate directions to the Member Secretaries of State Legal Services Authorities, and through them to district and taluka authorities, regarding receipt and expeditious consideration of applications filed by acid attack victims. A similar direction was issued for Union Territories.

Justice Nagarathna observed that the effectiveness of the court's orders depended on cooperation from the states and expressed hope that the directions would translate into tangible relief for victims rather than remaining on paper.

Case no. – W.P.(C) No. 1252/2023

Case Title – Acid Survivors Saahas Foundation (NGO) v. Union of India