The Kerala High Court has recommended that the government establish a committee and incorporate “safe sex education” into school and college curriculums. Emphasizing the importance of proper education about safe sex for young people, the court urged the Chief Secretary to take appropriate action in this matter.
The court made this suggestion while addressing a plea by a father to medically terminate the pregnancy of his minor daughter, who had been impregnated by his minor son. Justice P V Kunhikrishnan, a single bench, noted that such incidents occur due to a lack of knowledge about safe sex. The judge expressed the following viewpoint:
“It is the duty of our society to keep these parents close to get over from this trauma. Nobody can blame the parents. But, we the society is responsible for this. Sibling incest may take place in the context of a family system that does not provide a safe environment for its members. But it may also happen because of the lack of knowledge about safe sex. I am of the considered opinion that the government should seriously think about the necessity of proper ‘sex education’ in schools and colleges.”
Initially, the court had granted permission for the termination of the pregnancy, citing potential social and medical complications. However, the Medical Board reported that since the minor was already at 32 weeks of pregnancy, there was a chance of delivering a live premature baby who may face various health issues.
Later, the court was informed that the minor girl had given birth to the baby. The court then informed the father that he could submit an application to the Child Welfare Committee for his daughter’s restoration in accordance with the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.
During the subsequent hearing, it was revealed that the Child Welfare Committee had handed over the minor mother to her uncle and that the newborn child had been surrendered to the committee. Stressing that the state had a duty to protect the newborn, the court directed the Child Welfare Committee to take necessary steps in accordance with the law.
“These types of causalities shall not be there in our society in the future. The embarrassment of the parents and also the victim girl cannot even be imagined. As I said earlier, this happened because of the lack of knowledge about safe sex. Minor children are in front of ‘internet’ and ‘google search’. There is no guidance to the children,” stated the court in its order.
Highlighting the necessity of educating young minds about safe sex, the court emphasized:
“Safe sex education is the need of the hour to avoid these types of embarrassment to the parents. A good family atmosphere is necessary in society. To attain this, every citizen of this country should join together without pelting stone to such unfortunate people.”
Following the court’s permission for the termination of the pregnancy, Advocate Kulathoor Jaisingh sought to be included in the case. The Division Bench, consisting of Chief Justice SV Bhatti and Justice Basant Balaji, granted the applicant permission to approach the Single Judge for both impleading himself as one of the respondents and obtaining appropriate orders in the case. Jaisingh had appealed against the decision of the single bench, arguing that a baby in the womb cannot be terminated by a judicial order to protect the “false pride” of the victim girl’s family without any evidence. The Single Bench subsequently allowed Jaisingh to be impleaded before closing the writ petition.
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