The White Paper from the Home Department, Odisha government confirmed that 3,054 rape cases were reported in 2024, up from the previous year, which aligns with 8% increase.
Unmindful of government's own data Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi claimed that overall crimes against women have dropped under his government but the white paper shows 30,943 cases of crimes against women in 2024, with 2,574 of those being rape cases as per his Assembly statement. The numbers do not add up between the two reports because 29,354 cases are still under investigation.
Opposition MLAs were suspended and forcibly evicted from the State Assembly on March 26, 2025. Odisha Assembly Speaker Surama Padhy suspended the Congress MLAs for seven days.
The Congress MLAs were protesting in the well of the House, demanding the formation of a House committee to investigate rising crimes against women. They have been staging demonstrations since March 7, 2025. 64460 women and children missing in Odisha in last five years. There has been 54 gang rapes in eight months.
With all the 14 Congress MLAs now suspended and the government refusing to form a House committee to probe crimes against women, political tensions in Odisha continue to rise. The Opposition has accused the government of avoiding accountability.
Rape related case in High Court
In X vs. State of Odisha and Ors. (Case No.: W.P.(C) No.5396 of 2025), the petitioner’s father had sought a direction from the Odisha High Court to convene the Medical Board to assess his daughter’s condition and facilitate the termination of her pregnancy. The High Court's Single Bench of Justice S.K. Panigrahi on March 3, 2025 allowed the petition seeking permission for the termination of his 13-year-old daughter’s pregnancy after noting that she was subjected to a sexual assault resulting in her pregnancy. The High Court also ordered the Health and Family Welfare Department to develop a comprehensive Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), which would prevent the patients from facing drawn-out legal struggles. The order reads: “The SOP should ensure a smooth and timely process for medical termination of pregnancy, removing avoidable delays and preventing the patient from facing unnecessary bureaucracy or drawn-out legal struggles.”
The pregnancy was discovered at a late stage, beyond the 24-week limit prescribed under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 (MTP Act). An FIR was registered under Section(s) 64(2)(m)/65(1)/351(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, read with Section 6 of the POCSO Act, 2012. X is currently admitted and undergoing treatment for her pregnancy and disabilities. It was submitted that giving birth would pose a serious risk to X's life.
In Justice (Retd.) K.S. Puttaswamy vs. Union of India (2014), the Supreme Court has held that the right to make reproductive choices finds firm footing within the constitutionally enshrined guarantees of life and personal liberty under Article 21.
No comments:
Post a Comment