Hyderabad HC directs collector to pay Rs 3 lakh to acid attack victim

Hyderabad: The Hyderabad High Court on Tuesday directed the Ranga Reddy district collector to immediately pay Rs 3 lakh as preliminary compensation to a transgender who was a victim of acid attack. The collector was told to report compliance by Monday.

A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Ramesh Ranganathan and Justice T. Rajani was dealing with a petition by the transgender seeking to declare the Telangana Victim Compensation Scheme, 2015 as illegal and against the spirit of the judgments of the Supreme Court in cases of Laxmi versus Union of India and others and Parivartan Kendra versus Union of India and others.

Counsel for the petitioner submitted that the acid attack victim was denied compensation for his medical treatment by plastic surgery as there was no provision under the Scheme 2015 for transgenders.

He urged the court to direct the authorities to pay Rs 10 lakh as interim compensation immediately, as the petitioner suffered trauma, social stigma and was a victim of negligence by the state.