Girl delivers in hospital, 12-year-old booked

Kochi: Kalamassery police have registered a case against a 12-year-old boy and a private hospital here after an 18-year-old girl gave birth to a baby.

While the boy was booked under Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice Act for allegedly impregnating the girl two months before she turned 18, the hospital was charged for breaching the POCSO Act by not informing the police.

Denying any wrongdoing, hospital authorities said the girl was 18—and hence not a minor—when she approached them and went into labour and .

The hospital said it informed the Childline once the young mother’s relatives informed that a 12-year-old boy had fathered the newborn girl.

“Besides reporting the case, all files regarding the girl was handed over to the Childline soon after she was discharged on November 4, hospital sources added.

Childline volunteers, meanwhile, were suspecting that whether the 12-year-old had impregnated the girl.

“The hospital authorities had followed the protocol and informed us about the incident on the morning of November 2. We alerted Thrikakara ACP about the incident,” said Father Tomy SDB, director of Childline, Kochi.

Kalamassery circle inspector Jayakrishnan said the girl had given birth in the hospital the night before they were informed.”As per Section 18 of the POCSO Act the hospital was supposed to inform us immediately. The case was registered against the hospital for failing to do so,” he said.

Meanwhile, Childline and child welfare commission officials said it was not mandatory to inform the police. The information could be passed on to any agency listed under the Juvenile Justice Act.

The grandparents of the young mother later attended a sitting of the child welfare commission and handed over the newborn to the panel, saying they were not ready to bring her up. The panel sent the infant to its care centre.