AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat high court on Wednesday permitted a 12-year-old girl raped by her father to terminate her 27-week pregnancy and ordered the state government to pay Rs 2.5 lakh as compensation to her.
The minor and her mother had approached the HC a few days after an FIR was registered under the
Pocso Act
against the accused. On the court’s direction, the survivor was examined at
SSG Hospital
in
Vadodara district
, and the medical report established that she was 26 weeks and five days pregnant.
Justice
Samir Dave
directed the district medical authorities to ensure the pregnancy was terminated within a week.
“Looking at the age of the survivor”, the court awarded compensation, directing the government to pay Rs 50,000 and put the remaining amount in a fixed deposit in a nationalised bank. The girl will continue to get the interest accrued every year till she turns 21, after which she can access the deposit.
