E-Paper
Release rescued woman detained for STD treatment: Bombay HC to NGO
In relief for a 27-year-old woman who was rescued from a Versova hotel where she was allegedly forced into flesh trade, the Bombay high court (HC) directed the NGO (non-government organisation) which had been entrusted the woman’s custody to release her
In relief for a 27-year-old woman who was rescued from a Versova hotel where she was allegedly forced into flesh trade, the Bombay high court (HC) directed the NGO (non-government organisation) which had been entrusted the woman’s custody to release her.
The woman was detained and sent to the NGO’s custody by the magistrate for a year so that she could be treated for a sexually transmitted disease (STD). The woman challenged the order stating that she was a survivor and had two minor daughters, and hence, could not stay in detention. HC allowed her release after medical reports stated that the woman did not have HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) nor did she require treatment for STD.
The single-judge bench of justice AS Gadkari, while hearing the woman’s application, was informed by advocate Ashley Cusher that though the woman was a survivor under the Immoral Trafficking (Prevention) Act, the magistrate had sent her to the custody of NGO Rescue Foundation as she had tested positive for Treponema Pallidum Elisa (TPE) test.
In an earlier hearing, Cusher had submitted that the woman was married and her daughters needed their mother’s care, and hence, she had applied for her release before the sessions court. However, as the sessions court had rejected her application, she had approached HC.
After hearing the submissions and in light of the fact that the woman was an adult, the court observed that her detention was not required.
On April 7, based on HC’s order, the NGO’s advocate Shehzad Naqvi submitted two medical certificates, attached to Mumbai District Aids Control Society and Bharat Ratna Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Municipal General Hospital, which stated that the woman had tested negative for HIV and no treatment was required for the STD.
The court then directed the NGO to release the woman on the condition that she gives an undertaking that she would be present at the time of the trial and disposed of the application.
