A youth sentenced to life imprisonment for throwing acid on a girl’s face may see the order revoked, courtesy a petition from his victim.

Rahambari Mondal, now out on bail, will be a free man again once his family deposits Rs 2 lakh for the upkeep of Manjura Khatun.

The woman was assaulted nine years ago, when she was 19, by Rahambari, then 17, after she refused to marry him.

“My right eye got permanently damaged and face disfigured after the attack. I have also been suffering from various other ailments. A poor but kind man has married me but he doesn’t have the money for my treatment. My problems will not be solved if Rahambari spends the rest of his life in jail. Please do something that will help me get over the problems,” Manjura told the high court division bench of Justice G.C. Gupta and Justice K.K. Prasad on August 18.

Following her submission, the bench ordered Rahambari’s family members to attend court on Thursday.

On seeing the Mondals, who are quite well off, the judges asked them whether they would pay a compensation of Rs 2 lakh to Manjura. “If you pay the amount, we will make an arrangement so Rahambari would not have to spend the rest of his life in jail.”

The Mondals agreed to the proposal. The court ordered them to hand over Rs 2 lakh to the additional sessions judge of Nadia. “The judge is being directed to open a fixed deposit account in Manjura’s name in any branch of State Bank of India. Manjura will collect the interest every month. But she will have to take the court’s permission if she wants to make any premature withdrawal,” the bench said.

The court also directed the superintendent of SSKM Hospital to arrange for Manjura’s treatment.

“Manjura will meet the superintendent and tell him her problems. The superintendent is being directed to make necessary arrangements for her treatment. The treatment cost will be borne by the state authorities,” the bench ruled.

Rahambari and Manjura are residents of Harindanga village under Chakdah police station in Nadia. Rahambari had proposed to Manjura but she rejected the offer.

On July 11, 1999, Rahambari went to Manjura’s house and threw an acid bulb on her face. The woman’s father lodged a police complaint.

Rahambari was arrested in August 1999 and was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment on November 18, 2000.

In January 2001, Rahambari had appealed against the order in the high court and also moved a bail petition. Considering his age, the high court granted him bail in 2005 while his appeal was pending.

The appeal plea came up for hearing in early August, when the division bench of justices Gupta and Prasad asked Manjura to attend court on August 18.