CM talks about women safety, reality differs: Court after Vijay govt's report mix-up
The Madras High Court questioned authorities after a hospital submitted an abortion fitness report instead of the medical details it had sought. The mix-up prompted Justice Victoria Gowri to raise concerns over the enquiry process and women's safety claims in the state.
The Madras High Court's Madurai Bench has pulled up authorities over a medical report mix-up case, with the presiding judge saying that the ground reality appeared starkly different from Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay's claims of prioritising women's safety.
Justice Victoria Gowri's observations came while hearing a petition filed by a man who alleged that a false narrative had been created portraying him as having cheated on a woman after promising marriage.
The petitioner claimed that he was neither in a relationship with the woman nor had he made any promise to marry her.
He further alleged that the police were harassing and pressuring him to marry the woman in the guise of an enquiry.
During earlier proceedings, Justice Gowri had directed authorities to submit a detailed medical examination report on the woman's health condition and clarify whether she was pregnant.
However, when the matter came up for hearing, the court was reportedly furnished with a report from a medical team of the Tirunelveli Government Hospital addressing an entirely different issue — whether the woman was medically fit to undergo an abortion.
The report drew sharp criticism from the court, which had neither sought an opinion on termination of pregnancy nor requested an assessment related to abortion procedures.
Expressing shock over the contents of the report, Justice Gowri questioned how a medical team could submit an abortion fitness opinion when the court had specifically sought details regarding the woman's health condition and pregnancy status.
The judge subsequently directed that a proper medical examination report be submitted by a team of doctors from the Tirunelveli Government Hospital.
During the hearing, Justice Gowri also made observations on women's safety in the state. The judge remarked that while Chief Minister Vijay projects his administration as one committed to ensuring women's safety and welfare, incidents such as the present case painted a different picture of the situation on the ground.
The court's observations came amid concerns over the manner in which both the inquiry and the medical examination process were handled in the case.
The matter remains under consideration before the Madras High Court, which has now sought a comprehensive medical report from the hospital authorities.