New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday sought responses from the Union government and other concerned parties on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) demanding a complete ban on female genital mutilation (FGM), a practice reported mainly in the Dawoodi Bohra Muslim community.
A bench comprising Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice R Mahadevan issued notices on the petition filed by the Chetna Welfare Society, an NGO that argues the practice violates fundamental rights and is not an essential component of Islamic faith.
The case is expected to be transferred to a Constitution Bench, as the court had earlier referred similar petitions to a five-judge Bench on September 24, 2018. In November 2019, the Supreme Court had expanded the scope of the Sabarimala temple entry issue and referred various discriminatory religious practices—including FGM—to a seven-judge Constitution Bench for framing broad constitutional principles.
The petitioner contends that there is no standalone law banning FGM in India, but the practice falls under several offences related to causing hurt under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including Sections 113 and 118(1)-(3). It also cites the POCSO Act, noting that touching the genitals of a minor for non-medical reasons amounts to sexual assault.
Calling FGM a grave violation, the plea highlights that the World Health Organisation (WHO) considers it a serious human rights abuse with lifelong health consequences such as infections, complications during childbirth, cysts, and infertility. The petition also notes that the act breaches fundamental protections guaranteed under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Practised as ‘khatna’, FGM involves the removal of the clitoral hood and is usually carried out by traditional midwives on young girls in unhygienic conditions. Many in the community believe it prevents infidelity, though health experts and rights organisations strongly oppose the practice.
In 2012, the UN General Assembly unanimously called for the global elimination of FGM, and India’s National Commission for Women has also supported a nationwide ban.
