Pregnant Woman Granted Bail as Court Says Jail Delivery Will Affect Baby

The court decided to release Surbhi Soni on interim bail for six months.

Mumbai:

The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court granted six-month interim bail to a pregnant woman arrested in a drug case and stated that the birth of the child in a prison environment would affect both the mother and the baby.

In the order passed on November 27, a single judge bench Urmila Joshi-Phalke said even a prisoner has the right to dignity and surrendering a child to prison could have consequences.

The court decided to release Surbhi Soni on interim bail for six months.

Soni was arrested in April 2024 under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

Gondia Railway Security Force raided a train and seized narcotics from five persons, including Soni.

According to the prosecution, 33 kilos of narcotic substances were seized from the defendants, 7 kilos of which were in Soni’s luggage.

Soni was two months pregnant at the time of her arrest. She applied to the high court to request bail on humanitarian grounds so that she could give birth to her baby outside the prison.

The prosecution opposed the defense, claiming that commercial quantities of contraband goods were seized from the defendant, and said that necessary care would be taken in the prison regarding the delivery.

The court said it was true that Soni could have been treated in a government hospital while she was in custody during her birth.

“However, the birth of a child during pregnancy in a prison environment will certainly affect not only the petitioner (Soni) but also the child, which cannot be ignored,” the high court said. he said.

“Everyone, including the prisoner, has the right to the dignity required by the situation. The surrender of a child to prison may have consequences for both the mother and the baby, and therefore humanitarian considerations are necessary,” it was stated.

The court said prima facie there was evidence against the accused in the case, but granting bail to Soni would not prejudice the investigation, which has already been completed and the case file opened.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is syndicated.)