Now, it's official: Can't buy acid without ID proof

Only licensed vendors will be permitted to sell acid and those who want to buy it will have to submit a photo identity proof and an address proof, the Centre told the Supreme Court on Tuesday.

The submission came after the top court observed last week that the Centre was not serious enough to ban sale of acid though girls are dying every day due to acid attacks.

In its submission on its measures to curb sale of acid in the open market, the Centre also said that acid would now be categorised as poison. The government also submitted draft guidelines on rehabilitation for acid attack victims.

Dna was the first to report on June 11 that the government planned to make it mandatory for buyers to produce photo ID proof to procure acid.  

The apex court has also directed the Centre to categorise acids for industrial, medicinal, domestic or educational use. Licensed vendors would also be required to make daily entries of how much acid has been sold and to whom.
Vendors will also have to keep the acid in securely packed and labeled containers.

Last week, the Supreme Court gave the Centre a one-week ultimatum to come up steps to regulate the sale of acid before it takes matters in its own hands. In doing so, the court had said, “If an affidavit is not filed by next week, the court will pass an appropriate order to ban retail sale of acid across the country.”

The court was hearing a PIL filed in 2006 by an acid attack victim Laxmi. She sought a total ban on the sale of acid and compensation. She had also sought an amendment to the existing criminal laws or framing of a new law to deal with such offence.