12-year-old rape survivor moves Bombay high court to terminate pregnancy

Vaibhav Ganjapure | TNN | Updated: Apr 8, 2020, 10:52 IST

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NAGPUR: A 12-year-old rape survivor has knocked the doors of the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court for termination of her 22-23 weeks old pregnancy. Hailing from Shegaon village in Chandrapur, the minor was sexually exploited by her father’s friend, Yogesh Dohtare, who was later arrested under the stringent POCSO Act and section 376 of the IPC.
Justice Vinay Deshpande on Friday directed the Chandrapur Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) dean/civil surgeon to constitute a medical board comprising five doctors, including two lady doctors, such as a gynaecologist, radiologist, cardiologist, neurologist, and pathologist. The board was directed to examine the teenager on Monday and submit a report a day later, on Tuesday.
Accordingly, the board members examined the girl and a report was submitted in a sealed envelope to the court registry. The envelope will be opened on Wednesday during the hearing.
The petition wasn’t listed, but was taken on priority on Friday because of its urgency after the girl had lodged a police complaint with the help of her mother. As the girl hails from a poor family, the court allotted counsel Sweety Harish Bhatia through its legal aid cell. Bhatia drafted the petition in just 30 minutes and submitted it before the court which heard it the same day and pronounced a series of directives.
While issuing the notice to the state health secretary, through additional public prosecutor NS Rao, the court directed the registrar (judicial) to communicate its order to the GMCH civil surgeon/dean in Chandrapur.
District child protection officer Ajay Sakharkar had brought the survivor’s parents to court. “Due to the sexual atrocities committed on the minor, she became pregnant. The GMCH documents show that she’s carrying a pregnancy of 22-23 weeks. She has been asked to obtain the necessary orders from the court for the medical termination of her pregnancy,” the judge said.
(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)