“One mother is suffering. This should not happen again,” remarked Justice Ranjana Desai, while directing the police to continue searching for a newborn who went missing from the Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospital (Sion hospital) on January 1.
The baby boy’s parents Mohini (33) and Mohan Nerurkar (41) had approached the Bombay High Court after the police could not find their child.
A division bench of Justice Desai and Justice Rajesh Ketkar has asked Advocate General Ravi Kadam (who was appointed as amicus curie — friend of court), senior counsel Rafiq Dada and BMC counsel K.K. Singhvi to help the court frame guidelines to prevent such incidents in future.
After going through the progress report submitted by public prosecutor Satish Borulkar, the court expressed satisfaction over the efforts put in by the police to trace the infant. “The report shows that they (the police) are putting in all the efforts but nothing has come out of it. Let’s hope that they find the child,” said Justice Desai.
Justice Desai said, “This (the child going missing) should not have happened in the first place. Moreover, there is a rise in such incidents. Measures must be taken, particularly in the maternity ward.” The court also emphasised the need to spread awareness among women admitted in public hospitals for delivery. “If they (the women) are uneducated and simple then they cannot even read the notice boards,” said Justice Desai.
{{/usCountry}}Justice Desai said, “This (the child going missing) should not have happened in the first place. Moreover, there is a rise in such incidents. Measures must be taken, particularly in the maternity ward.” The court also emphasised the need to spread awareness among women admitted in public hospitals for delivery. “If they (the women) are uneducated and simple then they cannot even read the notice boards,” said Justice Desai.
{{/usCountry}}The BMC claimed that Mohini had left her child with a woman instead of the hospital staff resulting in it going missing.