Bombay HC directs Govt to provide medical assistance to pregnant minor at JJ Hospital

Mumbai: Coming to the rescue of a 17-year-old pregnant girl who was denied medical treatment by government hospitals, the Bombay High Court on Wednesday gave her nod to get access to medical care without any insistence of a police complaint. 

The court ordered the state government to look into the matter and make sure that the unmarried pregnant minor girl receives the necessary medical care. Furthermore, it directed JJ Hospital with the task of overseeing the girl's medical treatment while keeping her information confidential.  

During the hearing of the petition, a bench of Justices GS Kulkarni and FP Pooniwalla observed, "The girl shall be entitled to seek medical treatment at the JJ hospital. The dean of the hospital shall take all care to maintain confidentiality of the case and the treatment provided."  

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"All these shall be provided without any insistence of a police complaint. This is a fair order," the court added.

Before the court stepped in, the girl was denied medical treatment because she had not filed a First Information Report (FIR) with the police. Even though she wanted to give birth and put the baby up for adoption, government hospitals refused to admit her due to the absence of a police complaint.

The petition was filed by the mother of the minor girl through advocate Nigel Quraishy. The petition highlighted that hospitals refused treatment because the girl did not wish to lodge a police complaint against the college student, citing consensual relations between them. It emphasized the potential risk to the girl’s life without timely medical care. 

“The refusal of medical treatment violated the girl’s fundamental right to life enshrined in the Constitution of India. She has every right to get medical assistance regardless of any law,” said her plea.

According to Hindustan Times, Government pleader Purnima Kantharia submitted before the bench that the girl who lives in the western suburb of Mumbai could seek treatment at the state-run JJ hospital. The girl would, however, have to submit an emergency police report stating that she does not wish to pursue a criminal complaint against the boy.

In response to this advice, the girl's advocate Quraishy informed the court that the girl did not want to abort the child and that once the baby is born, he or she would be put up for adoption. The plea claimed that a shelter home in suburban Andheri had agreed to admit her before and after her delivery for assistance and care.

"There is no harm in submitting a statement to the police," said the court and directed that the girl submit her statement in the form of an emergency police report through her advocate by Friday.

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