Court fines woman in illegal abortion case after doctor’s identity misused

Dehradun: The court of the chief judicial magistrate in Nainital has fined a woman Rs 10,000 after it was revealed that she had impersonated a doctor to run an illegal clinic in Sahaspur. The clinic, which performed an abortion on a minor girl in 2014, was falsely operated under the name of a govt doctor who had no connection to the operation. The doctor was later acquitted after proving her identity had been stolen.
In 2015, two petitions were filed in the high court under the name of Dr Rekha Gupta, seeking to quash the FIR lodged against the clinic.However, when a notice was sent to her at her official address in Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh, she informed the court that she was a govt doctor with no clinic in Dehradun. "I have never operated any clinic in Dehradun and had no involvement in this matter," she told the court.
It was then revealed that her husband, Dr S B Gupta, along with his employee, Yasmeen, had been running the clinic using her name and fake documents. Yasmeen had also filed the petitions impersonating Rekha.
Yasmeen later claimed in court that Dr S B Gupta had coerced her into signing blank papers. "I had no choice. He made me sign the papers, and I wasn't aware of what they would be used for," she said. However, the high court registrar lodged a complaint, discovering that the petitions were submitted through advocate Rajat Mittal and that Yasmeen was the real petitioner. The complaint demanded an FIR and further investigation into Mittal's role in the fraud.
During the trial, Dr S B Gupta passed away. Rekha's lawyer argued that she was not part of the conspiracy and should be acquitted. "She had no involvement in the illegal activities conducted by her husband and the employee," the lawyer said in her defence. The court found no evidence of her involvement and cleared her of all charges.
Yasmeen, however, could not provide sufficient evidence to support her claims. The court, noting her nine-month pregnancy, imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 and allowed her to serve the time she had already spent in jail.