Pregnant woman sues Mumbai civic authorities
December 8, 2006
A pregnant woman has sued the Mumbai civic authorities for carrying out a sterilisation process on her, which did not work.
Sunita Gupta is eight months pregnant and says she cannot afford to have another baby, and that is why she opted for the sterilisation process in the first place.
Sunita already has two sons. Three years ago she underwent a surgery called Tubal Litigation at Mumbai’s KEM hospital.
The procedure was aimed at ensuring she never got pregnant again. She recently discovered that the operation had failed to do the job.
“I was having frequent stomach aches so I underwent tests at Wadia hospital and that’s where I found out I was pregnant,” said Gupta, a housewife.
Now, eight months into her third pregnancy, Sunita wants the BMC to pay for the upkeep of her unborn child, a child she hadn’t planned on having and cannot afford.
“They are to blame for this pregnancy and should pay for it. Anyway we cannot afford to look after it,” said Swaraj Gupta, Sunita’s husband.
Complaint in court
The Gupta’s want the BMC to foot their child’s bill from the delivery onwards, all the way to graduation in case if it is a boy. And if it’s a girl then they want the BMC to pay for her wedding as well.
They also want the hospital, KEM, to pay them Rs 10 lakh as compensation and an additional Rs 50,000 from the BMC.
“We have not received any complaint like this. But if we do we will investigate it and if it is a doctor’s fault then action will be taken against that doctor,” said Neelima Kshirsagar, Dean, KEM Hospital.
The Gupta’s are not content with the promise and have gone to court against the hospital and the civic authorities who control it.