Justice denied? 15 days jail to acid attackers after 14 yrs

New Delhi, May 13: Two men have been sentenced to 15 days imprisonment by a

14 years after they threw

on a shopkeeper and his employees who objected to their bathing in the balcony and letting the water spill onto the floor below.

Additional Sessions Judge Shail Jain sentenced Old Delhi residents Sudhir Dass and Mathura Dass to simple imprisonment for 15 days after holding them guilty of voluntarily hurting the complainant, Sidharth Santra, and his employees by throwing acid on them.

The court order came on an appeal filed by Sidharth against the order of a magisterial court which had acquitted the accused in the 1998 case. Sudhir and Mathura had been booked under section 324 IPC which entails maximum punishment of three years for voluntarily causing hurt by means of acid in pursuance of their common intention.

While setting aside the order of the trial court, the ASJ said, "Considering the fact that the incident had occurred on on August 8, 1998 and after facing protracted trial of 14 years, both accused were acquitted and the fact that they were on bail during trial, I sentence both the convicts to undergo simple imprisonment for 15 days."

Sidharth had in his appeal told the Sessions court that Sudhir and Mathura used to run a small jewellery shop in Chandni Chowk, old Delhi. Sidharth was running his business from the second floor of the building in which Sudhir and Mathura were residing at the third floor. Both the accused and also their employees used to take bath in the balcony of the third floor and let the water fall on the complainant and his employees working on the second floor. Despite their objections and repeated pleas, the accused and his employees continued their practice of bathing in the balcony while allowing the dirty water to fall.

On August 8, 1998, at about 10:30 AM, Sudhir Dass was taking bath in the balcony. When Sidharth requested him not to do so, Sudhir threatened to throw acid on him. Within minutes, Mathura Dass handed over a bottle of acid to Sudhir, who emptied its content on the complainant and his employees.

PTI