12-year-old rape survivor delivers baby after abortion denied by Madhya Pradesh High Court

A 12-year-old rape survivor, whose abortion plea was turned down by the High Court, has delivered a baby through the C-section surgery at the district hospital here.

Dr Indira Gupta, gynaecologist at the Khargone district hospital, said, "The girl delivered an infant boy weighing around 2.6 kg through C-section last night. Both the girl and the infant are stable and in good health." The police were informed about the development and a DNA test would be conducted on the baby, as is normally done in such cases (for the purpose of probe), she said.

Advocate Rajendra Singh Parmar, who represents the girl, said her parents are ready to take care of the baby.

"Parents of the rape survivor are ready to take care of the infant. But we are looking for institutions or individuals who can bring up the child up to the age of one year," Parmar said.

The girl was allegedly raped by a 21-year-old engineering student, her distant cousin, and the crime came to light when she was taken to hospital for stomach ache in August this year and was found to be over 20 weeks pregnant.

A case was registered at the Barud police station in the district on August 24 and the accused was arrested.

Her parents first moved the district court seeking permission to abort the foetus, but the court refused the permission on medical grounds. The parents then approached the Madhya Pradesh High Court's Indore bench.

The HC ordered a fresh medical examination, but the doctors' report advised against the termination of pregnancy.

Following which, the high court denied the permission for abortion and ordered a monitoring of girl's health by medical experts.