The Supreme Court on Thursday pressed the Union government to consider expanding the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act to recognise survivors who suffer severe internal organ damage after being forced to ingest acid. The court said this category of victims, often subjected to brutal and “animalistic” violence, must be brought within the protective umbrella of the law so they can access welfare benefits, medical support and enhanced compensation.

The matter was heard by a bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant, with Justice Joymalya Bagchi. The judges were dealing with a public interest petition filed by acid attack survivor Shaheen Malik, who sought an amendment to the statutory definition of disability to cover cases where perpetrators force victims to swallow acid, causing long-ter

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