HC relief for girl who conceived as minor, delivered as an adult

Mumbai : Bombay high court has directed Nair Hospital in Mumbai Central to immediately discharge an 18-year-old woman and her newborn child after it refused to discharge them without the filing of a police complaint since she had conceived when she was a minor .

Justices Burgess Colabawalla and Somasekhar Sundaresan Friday allowed a petition by the woman’s mother. “Considering an FIR has already been filed, we see no impediment in directing Nair Hospital in discharging the petitioner’s daughter, along with her child,” they stated.

They passed the order noting the “rather peculiar” facts of the case. The daughter attained age of majority on Aug 18. She was in a “voluntary” relationship with her friend. They developed physical intimacy and she became pregnant. At that time, she was 17 years and a few months old.

During a check-up at Nair Hospital, it was noticed that the girl was a minor when she conceived. The hospital forwarded her details to the police station as it was a Pocso case. She delivered on Oct 11.

Since she desired to surrender her child for adoption , the hospital was not discharging her without a police complaint being filed. Hence, her mother moved HC to direct her discharge and to direct the Child Welfare Committee to proceed with the adoption process without insisting on an FIR.

At the in-chambers hearing, the judges were informed by govt pleader Poornima Kantharia of the FIR against the daughter’s boyfriend. The mother’s advocates said it was filed based on her initial statement during her daughter’s admission to the hospital. The mother told the judges that as the relationship between her daughter and her boyfriend was consensual, they do not want to prosecute him.

The judges disposed of the plea directing that “petitioner’s daughter and her child shall, along with the police, immediately produce themselves before the Child Welfare Committee… for surrendering the child for adoption.”