Woman Petitions Madhya Pradesh HC for Husband’s Release to Exercise Fundamental Right to Procreation
A woman has filed a petition with the Madhya Pradesh High Court, seeking her husband’s release from jail, asserting her fundamental right to procreate. In her plea, she cited procreation as a fundamental right and emphasized her desire to bear a child.
The high court, in response to her petition, has directed the dean of the government-run Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Medical College in Jabalpur to establish a team of five doctors. Their task is to examine the woman petitioner’s medical fitness to conceive, as confirmed by the government’s counsel on Wednesday.
This order was issued on October 27, as part of the writ petition filed by the woman, according to government counsel Subodh Kathar. He explained that the woman’s husband is currently incarcerated in connection with a criminal case. She wishes to conceive and has based her request for his release on the fundamental right to procreation, drawing from a precedent set by the High Court of Rajasthan in the case of Nand Lal vs. State, Department of Home, Rajasthan, Jaipur, and others.
The petitioner’s goal is to secure her husband’s release from jail to facilitate the process of conception. However, Kathar pointed out that the woman has reached the age of menopause, as indicated in her records. Therefore, there seems to be no possibility of natural conception, and artificial insemination may also be unlikely.
The case was heard by a single judge bench, Justice Vivek Agarwal, who deemed it necessary to obtain a medical report from a team of expert doctors. This report will determine whether the petitioner is medically fit to conceive. The court has ordered the petitioner to appear before the college dean on November 7 for further evaluation.
The dean has been instructed to form a team of five doctors, consisting of three gynecologists, one psychiatrist, and another endocrinologist, to thoroughly assess the petitioner’s suitability for conception. The dean must provide the medical report within 15 days. The next hearing for this case is scheduled for November 22, as confirmed by the counsel. This unique case highlights the complex intersection of legal rights, medical considerations, and personal desires within the Indian legal system.
Re-reported from the article originally published in The Deccan Herrald
