IN A relief to a 27-year-old woman, who was rescued from Versova Hotel in September 2020 where she had allegedly been forced into prostitution, the Bombay High Court recently directed an NGO to release her from its detention.
After she was rescued in a raid carried out by the Mumbai Police’s Social Service Branch, the woman had been sent to NGO Rescue Foundation’s detention by a magistrate court for a year for treatment of sexually transmitted diseases (STD).
The woman moved the high court, seeking to set aside the order, urging that as she was the victim and had two minor daughters and therefore, she cannot stay in detention. The high court ordered her release after perusing medical reports, which said the woman did not have HIV and she did not require treatment.
A single-judge bench of Justice A S Gadkari on April 7 passed the order on the woman’s plea, argued through advocate Ashley Cusher.
The bench said, “It is clear that the ground on which the petitioner is directed to be detained by the learned magistrate, no more survives and as a matter of fact ceases to remain in force.”
The court said the woman should be released from the NGO’s custody on furnishing an undertaking that she would remain present before the trial court, when required.
Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/bombay-hc-asks-ngo-to-release-woman-detained-for-std-treatment-7269257/
