Abortion plea by woman held for ‘kidnapping’ 13-yr-old boy: Surat court to hear police’s response today

The woman’s lawyer, Wajid Shaikh, had on Friday submitted an application with the Special POCSO court of Judge R R Bhatt, seeking permission to abort the pregnancy under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act’s section 3. The judge had notified the police station concerned, asking the officers to be present in court with case-related documents.

The woman and her student went missing from their respective homes on April 25. The next day, Punagam police, following a complaint by the boy’s father, registered an offence under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Act’s Section 137(2), which pertains to kidnapping, against the teacher.

The teacher was arrested and the boy rescued from Shamlaji, a border area between Gujarat and Rajasthan, on April 29.

The duo was brought to Surat where, following a medical examination, it came to light that the woman is 20 weeks pregnant.

After police remand, the accused teacher was sent to judicial custody at Surat Central Jail.

Talking to The Indian Express, defence lawyer Shaikh said, “We have applied with the court seeking abortion. Our reasons are that there is a threat to the life of the accused and the newborn during delivery.” An inspector of the police station concerned said, “We have received the notice from the court and learnt about the application for abortion filed by the defence lawyer. In such cases, the court directs the police to get an opinion from the medical fraternity doctors. If the court directs us, we will take custody of the accused teacher from the jail and take her for an examination by a medical expert.”