Meet Justice Samir Dave Who Cited Manusmriti, Old Practice Of Women Giving Birth At 16 On Rape Victim's Abortion Plea

Gujarat High Court Justice Samir Dave recently denied the abortion plea of a rape victim saying that girls earlier used to get married at a young age and delivered a child before they turned 17.  Justice Dave also said that the court would have considered the abortion plea in case of any complications or health-related issues. The girl, aged 16 years and 11 months, is 29 weeks pregnant. Referring to pre-21st century practices, Justice Samir Dave also suggested that the petitioner’s advocate should read Manusmriti and added that such a thing is mentioned in the book as well. The girl is expected to deliver the baby on August 16.

However, Justice Samir Dave-led bench has recently allowed terminations of pregnancy of rape victims in two separate cases - one of 20-week-old pregnancy of a minor rape victim and another of 26 weeks old pregnancy where the foetus was weak and gestation period was less than 28 weeks. 

Who is Justice Samir Dave?

Justice Samir J. Dave was born on July 28, 1964, in a middle-class family in Patan, Justice Dave Graduated in Commerce from H. A. College of Commerce, Ahmedabad in the year 1984. He obtained Law Degree from Sir L. A. Shah College, Ahmedabad and was enrolled as an advocate with the Bar Council of Gujarat on 03.04.1992. 

Justice Samir Dave joined the legal profession in 1992 and started practice in the High Court of Gujarat. He is an expert in Civil matters, Criminal matters, Service matters, labour matters and Constitutional matters. He also served as an Assistant Government Pleader in the year 1995 and as an Additional Public Prosecutor in the year 1999 in the High Court of Gujarat. Justice Dave was also appointed as Standing Counsel for the Central Government in the High Court of Gujarat and also represented the Central Bureau of Investigation in the High Court of Gujarat between 2003 and 2006.

Justice Samir J. Dave was appointed Gujarat High Court judge in October 2021 and will be retiring on July 27, 2026. 

Justice Dave And Hindu Holy Texts

It was Justice Samir Dave who denied bail to a teacher charged under POCSO Act and cited the shloka 'Guru Brahma, Gurur Vishnu'. Justice Samir Dave is known for his knowledge of Sanskrit and Puranas. In one of the cases, Justice Dave refused bail to a father who is charged with molesting his daughter citing Manusmriti and Padma Purana. Quoting the sacred texts, Justice Dave said that a father has a celebrated status in society and added that while an Acharya is greater than ten Upadhyayas, a father is greater than a hundred Acharyas.

Justice Dave's decisions are a combination of laws as per the Constitution, IPC sections and the ancient texts likes Manusmriti and Vedas as reflected by his judgements.