Mumbai’s minor rape survivor, battling cancer, seeks termination of 24-week pregnancy

The petitioner’s mother, who works as house help, approached the HC on the grounds that her daughter was being treated for cancer and continuing with the pregnancy would be harmful for her.

The Bombay high court on Wednesday asked the city’s JJ Hospital to submit by Friday, a report on the plea of a 13-year-old rape survivor, who is also battling cancer, to terminate her 24-week pregnancy.

File photo of a rally in Mumbai in protest against the rape of an eight-year-old girl in Kathua near Jammu, and a teenager in Unnao, Uttar Pradesh state, April 15, 2018. (Image used for representational purpose) (Reuters File)

The petitioner’s mother, who works as house help, with the help of NGO Majlis, approached the HC on the grounds that her daughter was being treated for cancer and continuing with the pregnancy would be harmful for her.

According to lawyer Kuldeep Nikam, the teenager has been undergoing treatment for blood cancer at Wadia Hospital since 2010. The pregnancy came to light during a visit for to the hospital on September 5. The girl then told her mother that a school friend had raped her.

A criminal complaint was lodged against the rapist, who is also a minor, with Bhoiwada police station under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

Majlis co-founder and advocate Flavia Agnes told the court that the parents were under a lot of stress owing to their daughter’s ailment and the pregnancy would only aggravate matters.

After hearing the submissions, a division bench of justice Abhay Oka and Mahesh Sonak directed the dean of JJ Hospital to appoint a committee and examine the victim on Thursday.