In an interesting hearing on the plea of a 24-year-old gangrape victim, the Gujarat High Court on Thursday rejected the victim's plea to get an abortion remarking that the foetus is living being with a fundamental right to live.
The court rejected the plea of the rape victim, who is 27-week pregnant. She had approached the Gujarat High Court to allow her to abort the child as she is a married woman. While turning down her plea, the court said that the victim must abide by the present law and that an abortion at this stage will endanger her life.
The victim was abducted from her home in Surat and was gangraped by seven persons for close to six months on a gunpoint. She somehow managed to escape from her captors on March 14, 2015. Subsequently, she found herself to be pregnant and approached a local court in Botad town situated near port town Bhavnagar in Surashtra region. She was 24-week pregnant then. Considering Section 3 of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act 1971, the Botad Court turned down her plea on March 26 this year.
Challenging the lower court's decision, she approached the High Court to allow her to abort on the ground that in the case of giving birth to a child, she would not be accepted by her husband. However, the upper court too rejected her plea and directed that she will have to deliver the child under the supervision of Collector of Botad and instructed him to ensure that the child is born with proper medical care and not abandoned.
The court has also said that the Collector can take help of an NGO or the social welfare department of the State Government. Besides, the court also directed the police to carry out a proper investigation in the case as only three accused have been arrested by the cops.