Case Comment: Pranab Kanti Sen V. State Of West Bengal (2010)
- IJLLR Journal
- Apr 17
- 1 min read
Devanshi Dibya, Symbiosis Law School, Nagpur
CITATION: (2009) 4 CALLT 182; (2010) CriLJ 162
COURT: High Court of Calcutta
CORAM: Partha Sakha Datta, J.
INTRODUCTION
Pranab Kanti Sen v. State Of West Bengal, a judgment pronounced by the hon’ble High Court of Calcutta stands as an essential one, which explores the scope of criminal law involving ‘domestic violence’ and ‘medical consent’ specifically in instances of forced medical termination of pregnancy. Furthermore the judgment has essentially enunciated upon the limits to High Court’s power to intervene during preliminary criminal proceedings.
The matter arose subsequent to a First Information Report (FIR) lodged with the by the O.P. No. 2 against her husband, Petitioner no. 3 as well as her in-laws namely her father-in-law as the Petitioner No. 1 and mother-in-law as Petitioner No. 2. Pursuant to the FIR a criminal case was registered against them under Sections 498A, 406, 34 of the Indian Penal Code 1860 (IPC) relating to cases involving ‘cruelty by the husband or relatives’, ‘criminal breach of trust’, ‘acts committed in furtherance of common intention’. Subsequently, an additional charge under Section 313 of the IPC was also formulated concerning the act of causing miscarriage without the consent of the woman. Aggrieved by this the Petitioners approached the High Court under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) seeking the quashing of the criminal proceedings initiated against them.
This case thus, engages with the complex questions of victim autonomy, nuances of medical ethics and principle of free consent in medical practices, which shall be further analyzed.
