Gujarat High Court cites Skanda Purana on value of motherhood but allows plea to abort minor's pregnancy

The Gujarat High Court recently invoked a Hindu religious text 'Skanda Purana' to emphasise the value of a mother in society, while permitting a 17-year-old girl to abort her 19-week pregnancy, .Justice Samir Dave allowed the girl's plea for abortion after noting that the Court cannot compel her to carry on with the pregnancy. "If the victim does not want to continue with her pregnancy then this Court cannot compel her to continue her pregnancy," the Court said. .However, the judge also invoked a verse from Skanda Purana to touch upon the value of a mother in society. ."नास्ति मातृसमा छाया नास्ति मातृसमा गतिः। नास्ति मातृसमं त्राणं नास्ति समा प्रपा।। (Skanda Purana: Chapter 6. 103-104) अर्थात - माता के समान कोई छाया नहीं, कोई आश्रय नहीं , कोई सुरक्षा नहीं। माता के समान इस विश्व में कोई जीवनदाता नहीं। (Translation: There is no shade, no shelter, no protection like a mother. There is no life giver in this world like a mother)," stated the September 8 ruling..Notably, the 22-year-old man responsible for the pregnancy, who was booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act), requested that the foetus should not be aborted. However, the Court turned down the request.In an affidavit, the man told the bench that he was ready to marry the victim and to take all the responsibilities of the victim and also that of the child to be born. He apprised the bench that the dispute between the parties was related to caste. He also alleged that the victim had not agreed to the medical termination of her pregnancy and that she was being pressurised to abort by her parents.He, therefore, urged the bench to reject the plea to abort the foetus. The Court, however, declined to accede to this request, while observing,"The respondent no.6 has filed an affidavit objecting to the termination of pregnancy of victim, this Court would give weightage to the wish and desire of the victim, though she is residing with her parents.".The bench added that the man's objection did not hold much significance since the relationship between him and the minor girl did not have any legal recognition since the girl was a minor. .This is not the first time that Justice Dave has invoked a religious text while dealing with a rape survivor's plea to abort her 'unwanted' pregnancy.On June 9, Justice Dave invoked the Manusmriti to emphasise how girls in the past were married off by the age of 14 to 16 years and would have given birth to at least one child by the age of 17. The judge drew criticism from various quarters for this reference. However, he responded to the criticism by invoking the Bhagavad Gita and said that a judge must be like a "Stithaprajna", which means he should ignore both criticism as well as appreciation.In December 2022, Justice Dave also invoked the well-known shloka - 'Guru Brahma Gurur Vishnu Guru Devo Maheshwaraha Guru Saakshat Para Brahma Tasmai Sree Gurave Namaha' while denying bail to a teacher accused of sexually abusing a student..Advocate Bhargav Mehta appeared for the victim's father. Advocates Amit Chaudhary and Devendra Patel represented the respondent who had objected to the abortion plea. Additional Public Prosecutor Bhargav Pandya represented the State..[Read Judgment]