While an 83-year-old woman of the Jain community here is ‘fasting unto death’ for over 50 days now as part of a religious ritual, the city police are clueless as to how to handle the situation. But a city-based social organisation has sought judicial intervention in the issue claiming that the archaic practice is “unconstitutional” and “illegal” as it violates Article 21 of the Constitution and is punishable under Sections 306 and 309 of IPC.
Vhicki Devi Sethia, wife of Bhawarlal Sethi of Friends Colony here, is observing “Santhara” since September 2, and till date she has shunned food as part of the Jain ritual to abandon her body in order to attain ‘Moksha’. The woman, who claims to have no more unfulfilled wishes to accomplish, has reportedly obtained permission for this from religious leaders, and her family members have also given consent to it.
But comparing the primitive ritual to suicide, social organisation Struggle for Justice has approached the Odisha High Court through a PIl urging it to declare the observance of the religious ritual in public as illegal and direct the police to initiate criminal proceedings against Vhicki Devi for attempting to commit suicide and against her family members for abetting suicide.
The organisation’s secretary Shashi Kant Sharma initially approached the local police station and subsequently represented to the city Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) seeking police action against Vhicki Devi and others. But when the police failed to initiate any action, Sharma approached the High Court last week arraigning the Central and State Governments as respondents, among others.
While the High Court has not yet taken cognisance of the petition, reports said the condition of Vhicki Devi is deteriorating fast. Sources close to her family pointed out that Vhicki Devi, in the meantime, has suffered from bedsores and is refusing treatment.