“Minor Girl’s Aborted Foetus not to be given to the Police or Court, must be kept in Forensic Lab and Destroyed after Completion of Case”: Madras High Court
July 16, 2024 2024-07-30 10:34“Minor Girl’s Aborted Foetus not to be given to the Police or Court, must be kept in Forensic Lab and Destroyed after Completion of Case”: Madras High Court
“Minor Girl’s Aborted Foetus not to be given to the Police or Court, must be kept in Forensic Lab and Destroyed after Completion of Case”: Madras High Court
By Astha Bhumish Shah
Noting that there was no standard operating procedure to deal with the products of conception after a Medical Termination of Pregnancy done for a minor pregnant girl, the Madras High Court observed that a guideline needed to be issued and followed across the state. The Bench was constituted to monitor the implementation of provisions of the POCSO act and the Juvenile Justice Act on the judicial side. It was observed that after a foetus less than 24 weeks old was sent to Forensic Science Lab and the analysis was done, there was no standard operating procedure available nor was there any facility to preserve the product of conception. The Court thus made it clear that once the analysis was complete and a report was submitted by the FSL, the sample should be retained by the FSL till the completion of the case and destroyed after that. It further emphasised that the samples should not be handed over the investigation officer or the victim girl’s family. With respect to a foetus beyond 24 weeks, the femur alone was handed over to the FSL and the rest of the products of conception should be treated as Bio-medical waste and destroyed as per the procedure.
During the proceedings, the Court also stressed that care must be taken to not reveal the identity of the minor victim. It observed that after the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) came into effect, maintaining confidentiality became more important as the new law insisted on audio-video recording and if these recordings were leaked, it would cause more damage to the victim girl who has already undergone trauma. While revealing identity was necessary for proceeding with the investigation, the identity and personal details of the victim girl need not be explicitly revealed in the report submitted to the authorities. The Court thus suggested that the Registered Medical Practitioner can orally reveal the identity of the victim, on a request from the police to enable the investigation. However, the police must be prevented from disclosing the identity and the personal details of the minor girl. Finally, the Court observed that a proper mechanism needed to be evolved to ensure that the identity of a minor girl and her details never get revealed. (Kajendran J v Superintendent of Police – HCP No. 2182 of 2022)
