Writ petition seeks ban on practice of Female Genital Mutilation

New Delhi, July 30: A Writ petition was filed on Monday before the Supreme Court seeking issuance of orders to impose a complete ban on the practice of Female Genital Mutilation throughout India.

The plea sought for the practice a cognizable non-compoundable and non-bailable offence. The SC said that the practice violated Right to Privacy and that a woman doesn't live for her husband, marriage.

According to reports, Centre has backed a ban on female genital mutilation.

On July 10, the Supreme Court questioned the practice of female genital mutilation of minor girls in the Dawoodi Bohra Muslim community, saying it violates the bodily "integrity" of a girl child. A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra was told by Attorney General K K Venugopal, representing the Centre, that the practice causes irreparable harm to girl children and needed to be banned.

He told the bench, which also had Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, that countries like the USA, the United Kingdom, Australia and around 27 African countries have banned this practice.

(With PTI inputs)