Gujarat court asks asks gang-raped woman to "bravely go ahead and deliver the child"

The housewife, pregnant for seven months  told the court that she apprehends that her husband and his family will not accept the child.

While rejecting her petition on Thursday, the court  asked the state administration to look after her and make sure her baby is not abandoned.

The woman had filed an FIR  on March 16, alleging that she was abducted by seven men from outside her home in July last year and gang-raped for about 10 months. The abductors reportedly moved her from place to place during the period.

When she went to the police, she was 24 weeks pregnant.

A district court rejected her plea for abortion saying it was "too late" and could pose a threat to her life.

Upholding  the district court's ruling Gujarat high court judge JB Pardiwala said, "I am conscious of the fact that to carry a child in the womb after an act of rape is not only extremely traumatic for her but also humiliating, frightening and psychologically devastating. In Indian society, she becomes an object of scorn and ostracisation."

"The applicant will have to bravely go ahead with the pregnancy and when time comes, she should deliver the child. I am conscious of the fact that it is easy for a judge to say so in his judgment because it is ultimately the applicant who will have to face hard days ahead. Yet, howsoever harsh one may find the law, it remains the law and one has to respect it. She must understand that termination at this stage will put her own life in peril."

The court directed the state government to help the woman with medical facilities and ordered police protection for her and her family.

The petitioner's lawyer says they will take a decision whether to  appeal the high court's decision.