G. Valentina, the victim of an acid attack from Kallakurichi in Villupuram, got a fresh lease of life last week after enduring mental and physical agony for more than a decade, when the state government gave her a job on compassionate ground to avoid contempt proceedings.
The state health and family welfare department, in its order of March 30, 2012, had asked the director of medical and rural health services to appoint 26-year-old Valentina as a junior assistant in the TN Ministerial Services in the directorate on compassionate grounds as a “special case” as was ordered by the Madra high court.
The counsel for the government produced the appointment order when the contempt petition moved by Valentina came up for hearing before Justice Paul N. Vasanthakumar last week.
Valentina moved the contempt petition against the director of medical education (DME) for not complying with a July 2010 order of the HC directing the DME to provide her a job within four weeks.
The July 2010 order follows an earlier HC order of July 11, 2008, in which the court, acting on a criminal appeal filed by one Dhanasekar, who had poured acid on Valentina, upheld the 10-year rigorous imprisonment awarded by subordinate court and directed the state government to give her a suitable job.
The 2008 order recommended that the State relax age and eligibility, among other norms, to provide a suitable employment befitting her educational qualification. The court even ordered the state for a complete facial surgery and bearing all expenses on humanitarian grounds.
Valentina was a 14 year-old student in Class IX when Dhanasekar entered her house and poured acid on her face. The additional assistant sessions judge in Villupuram convicted Dhanasekar to 10 years RI. After qualifying with a degree of MSc., M Phil (micro biology) she applied for a suitable job.