The Bombay High Court has directed Maharashtra to examine a rehabilitation framework for minor survivors of sexual assault who require medical termination of pregnancy, rejecting the state’s argument that such a scheme would have a financial impact.
A division bench of Justices Bharati Dangre and Ashish Chavan questioned the government’s response during a hearing in Mumbai on Monday. The court said compensation alone could not meet the needs of children who undergo MTP after sexual assault and require sustained medical and psychological support.
The court’s intervention followed an earlier hearing on pleas seeking MTP for survivors, when it asked whether the state could assist them in any manner. On October 12, the bench had also asked whether the government had a scheme to help such survivors become self-reliant.
Maharashtra’s advocate, Molina Thakur, told the court that the Manodhairya scheme and the Centre’s Vatsalya compensation scheme were available, but that there was no scheme specifically applicable to POCSO survivors in the circumstances before the court. The judges said compensation was only one part of rehabilitation.
The bench referred to possible support for continuing education, joining a self-help group or receiving vocational assistance. It also said that, if no suitable scheme existed, a framework could be devised for the children whose cases were before the court.
The court said a nodal agency would be needed to coordinate different departments and ensure continuing medical check-ups and psychological care. Justice Dangre said a girl of 13 or 14 who had undergone pregnancy termination could require counselling, psychiatric assessment and regular medical monitoring until adulthood.
“Let the state not be so insensitive. You failed to protect the girl child and that’s why she landed here. And you talk about financial burden?” the judges asked, according to the report. The bench also questioned how the state could cite cost when it had failed to protect the child.
The judges distinguished the Vatsalya scheme from the cases under consideration. They noted that Vatsalya focuses on abandoned children, orphans and children in observation homes, while the survivors before the court were outside that system and needed support while continuing to live in the community.
Advocate Rekha Musale, appearing for one of the survivors, submitted a draft rehabilitation scheme. When the court asked the state advocate to examine it, Thakur said she would need to place it before the government because of its financial implications.
The judges rejected that response and said the court would not seek the state’s consent merely because implementation could create a financial burden. The bench clarified that it was concerned with the specific cases before it rather than proposing a general framework for every circumstance.
The hearing was adjourned to Thursday. The state advocate was asked to examine the draft scheme and identify its broad areas before the next hearing.
