Bombay HC Orders Medical Aid for Pregnant Minor Who Declines to Lodge Rape Complaint

On Wednesday, the Bombay High Court ordered the Maharashtra government to give medical aid to a pregnant 17-year-old girl who turned away from hospitals for not filing a formal complaint against the boy who made her conceive. The petition, represented by advocate Nigel Quraishy, argued that hospitals denied the girl medical care because she chose not to file a police complaint against a college student with whom she had a consensual relationship. The bench presided by Justices GS Kulkarni and FP Pooniwalla ordered that the shelter home mentioned in the petition must admit the girl to provide necessary care and assistance.