RB News World Latest News
Related Articles
The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court has ordered the release of a pregnant woman on temporary bail for 6 months, saying that giving birth to a child in a prison environment will affect both the mother and the child. Justice Urmila Joshi-Phalke said in the order passed on November 27 that a prisoner is also entitled to respect and giving birth to a child in jail can have many consequences.
Know the whole matter
The court ordered the release of a woman named Surabhi Soni on temporary bail for 6 months. Soni was arrested in April 2024 under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. The Gondia Railway Protection Force had raided a train and recovered drugs from five people, including Soni. According to the prosecution, it had seized 33 kg of ganja from the accused, of which seven kg was found in Soni’s luggage.
Surabhi was 2 months pregnant at the time of arrest
Soni was two months pregnant at the time of arrest. She moved the high court seeking bail on humanitarian grounds so that she could deliver her child outside the prison. The prosecution opposed her plea, claiming that commercial quantities of contraband were seized from the accused. The prosecution had also argued that the accused would be provided with proper care in the prison for the delivery. A bench said it was true that Soni could be treated in a government hospital for delivery while in custody.
What did the high court say?
“However, giving birth to a child during pregnancy in a prison environment would have an impact not only on the petitioner (Soni), but also on the child, which cannot be ignored,” the court said. It said, “Every person has the right to get the dignity which the situation demands and this includes prisoners as well. Giving birth to a child in jail can have adverse effects on both the mother and the child and hence needs to be considered on humanitarian grounds.”
The court said that prima facie evidence exists against the accused in the case, but releasing Soni on bail will not have any adverse effect on the investigation as the investigation has already been completed and the chargesheet has been filed.
