Lawyer volunteers to cover child delivery expenses of minor rape victim on Rajasthan High Court request

The Rajasthan High Court recently made note of a gesture by Advocate Shreyansh Mardia who volunteered to cover all the child-delivery-related expenses of a pregnant minor rape victim..Mardia agreed to cover these expenses after the State argued that it could not be directed to financially support the victim's delivery expenses. A Bench of Justice Dinesh Mehta observed,"On Court’s request, Mr. Shreyansh Mardia, Advocate has volunteered to bear all the expenses relating to the delivery of the victim. In light of the gesture showed by Mr. Shreyansh Mardia, Advocate, no direction for bearing the delivery expenses is required to be given to the State."The Court further directed the Child Welfare Committee to provide counselling and assistance to the minor victim and her parents regarding the adoption process, if they so wish. The Committee shall also be free to take custody of the newborn child if deemed necessary, it added..The Court was considering an application filed by the father of a minor pregnant rape victim. Although the Court had earlier allowed a plea to terminate the pregnancy, the victim was already 29 weeks pregnant by the time she was taken to the hospital for the procedure.Carrying out the abortion at this stage spelt health risks for the victim. Therefore, the family decided to go ahead with delivering the fetus and then exploring adoption. The family filed an application seeking financial support from the State government to cover all expenses related to the child's delivery and to take the necessary steps for adoption.To support this prayer, the applicant relied on an April 29, 2024 judgment of the Supreme Court (X v. State of Maharashtra). Representing the applicant, Advocate Priyanka Borana contended that the State had a responsibility to bear the delivery expenses. .The State counsel did not oppose the request to recall the earlier order for pregnancy termination. However, Additional Advocate General NS Rajpurohit argued that the State cannot be directed to cover the medical expenses for the delivery.Upon request, Mardia, who also represented the applicant, agreed to cover all the delivery expenses. Recording this offer, the Court proceeded to dispose of the plea. .[Read Order]