Twelve years after her former landlord disfigured her face by throwing acid, Dr Mahalakshmi has finally won her legal battle.
Twelve years after her former landlord disfigured her face by throwing acid, Dr Mahalakshmi has finally won her legal battle.
The high court sentenced the accused, Chikkabasavaiah, to three years in jail and also directed him to pay `20,000 as compensation to the victim.
The case came up for hearing before the division bench headed by Justice Mohan Shantana Goudar on Thursday.
Mahalakshmi’s troubles began when she started her private clinic at a rented place in Mysore in 1998. From day one, Chikkabasavaiah started harassing her. He even clicked her pictures and spread a rumour that she was married to him.
Dr Mahalakshmi, although married, had separated from her husband and was living with her daughter.
To escape his torture, she shifted the clinic to a crowded area close to her parents’ house. But Chikkabasavaiah kept harassing her. When police failed to act on her complaints, she finally approached the police commissioner who warned Chikkabasavaiah to stay away from her.
One day, while returning home, Chikkabasavaiah waylaid her vehicle and misbehaved with her. She filed a complaint with the police and this infuriated her former landlord.
On January 11, 2001, Dr Mahalakshmi and her daughter were walking along a lane leading to their house when Chikkabasavaiah accosted them. He was desperate and, in a flash, threw acid on her face.
Mahalakshmi cried out for help, but nobody came to her rescue. Finally, an autorickshaw driver dropped her at her parents’ house. Mahalakshmi lost her vision in her left eye and hearing in her left ear. As she was lying on her hospital bed, the police visited her to register a case. But it took nine months for them to frame the charge-sheet.
Although a case was booked against Chikkabasavaiah, he was soon out on bail.
Five years later, the case came up for hearing in the fast track court and he was acquitted on June 1, 2005.
Mahalakshmi wanted to fight and she approached the high court. But the director of public prosecution said the case was unfit for appeal.
With the help of Campaign and Struggle against Acid Attacks, she approached the then home secretary who said the case was fit for appeal. The case was admitted in the high court.
In October 2010, talking to DNA, Mahalakshmi had called for stringent laws against those committing acid attacks.
“Unless the legal aspects change, there is no justice for acid victims. Such incidents should be treated like rape cases and should be decided in three months,” she had said.
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