Pragya Pai; Former Dean of KEM Hospital gestures during the press conference regarding Aruna Shanbag case in Mumbai on Thursday, 17 December 2009. A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking to allow nurse Aruna Shanbhag, who was raped violently by a sweeper in Mumbai’s King Edward Memorial Hospital 36 years ago and has been in a coma ever since, to die. The court issued notices to the Centre and the state government on the petition, observing that “under the law of the country, we cannot allow a person to die”. The petition was filed by Aruna Ramachandra Shanbaug through her friend Pinki Virani of Mumbai.

Photographer: Sameer Joshi

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