India, Dec. 11 -- The Supreme Court on Thursday observed that perpetrators of acid attacks are a "threat to society" and must be dealt with an "iron hand" as it came across the plight of victims who had been forced to ingest acid, leading to perpetual damage to their organs.

"In the penal code, such ruthless and brutal cases should have stringent conditions more than those in special laws such as UAPA, etc. These people are a threat to society, to the people. The law and the criminal justice system must deal with them with an iron hand to act as a preventive measure," said a bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and justice Joymalya Bagchi.

The bench also proposed that while the culprits were usually tried for causing grievou...