NATIONAL NEWS-III

Abortion rights for 13-yr-old rape victim to be decided by Gujarat High
Court
A 13-year-old girl, who conceived after being repeatedly raped, has moved the Gujarat High Court and sought permission to medically terminate her pregnancy after a sessions court rejected her plea there was no evidence on record to show that the health of the girl would suffer because of her pregnancy. The girl was raped by her neighbour, when her parents found out that she was pregnant, they took her to a local clinic for abortion but the doctors refused, asking them to first secure permission from the court.
Racing against time to get legal permission to abort within a medically safe period, the girl moved the High Court, saying pregnancy from rape was mental agony and could impact her mental health. The counsel for the girl submitted that it had been established beyond doubt that rape had led to her pregnancy. The Gujarat High Court as a reply asked the doctors to ascertain if the girl is physically fit for abortion or not.
Source: http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/609082/
http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/612631/
Human rights activists condemn human rights violation in Kalinganagar
The Working Group on Human Rights in India and the UN (WGHR) has condemned the severe repression of adivasi protesters in Kalinganagar, Orissa. The adivasi’s have been opposing the forceful acquisition of their agricultural lands for the construction of a Tata steel plant since 2006. The police along with private militia have been repressing the protestors by indiscriminate firing which ahs killed many protestors. Further the injured
are not being allowed out of the villages as a result of police gherao and private militia which has killed many tribals (including women and children) due to lack of access to medical treatment.
In wake of call such a mass scale of repression, the WGHR has called upon the state government to immediately cease the police repression, and begin honest dialogue on land acquisition with the adivasi communities of Kalinganagar along with Tata Steel. In addition other demands include: 1) an immediate halt to the building of the common corridor, 2) withdrawal of all false criminal cases against protestors, 3) the removal of private militias and police gherao from the affected villages, and 4) medical treatment to be made immediately available.
Press release 14 and 19 April 2010 and about WGHR: http://www.wghr.org/index.html
Sessions Court condemns and convicts for honour crimes sanctioned by the
Khap Panchayats
In a first of its kind judgment, a court in Karnal has awarded capital punishment to five persons and life sentence to one for murdering a couple following an order of the khap panchayat that they belonged to the same gotra and their marriage should be resolved. As a backlash to the judgemnt, an assembly (‘Sarv Jaati Khap Mahapanchayat’) of representatives 36 ‘khap panchayats from Haryana, parts of UP, Rajasthan and Delhi,
was convened which resolved to fight the court verdict. In addition they also demanded:- firstly, that court marriages and marriages in temple should be considered valid only if they were performed in the presence of parents of the bride as well as the bridegroom and their signature must be made compulsory while issuing a marriage certificate, secondly that khap panchayats should be given the status of Lok Adalats and thirdly amendment to the Hindu Marriage Act 1955 for making it illegal to marry in the same gotra (sub-caste). The Khaps have done gross injustice to hundreds of young men and women who have either aspired or married for love by ostracizing them and their families and ordering extra judicial punishments.


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