The girl’s mother hurried to the Supreme Court following the Bombay High Court’s refusal on April 4 to grant permission for a medical termination of the pregnancy.
On Monday, the Supreme Court granted permission for a 14-year-old rape survivor to have an abortion despite being over 29 weeks pregnant, emphasizing that continuing the pregnancy could pose risks to the girl’s physical and mental well-being. “These are very, very exceptional cases where we have to protect the children…every passing hour is very crucial for her,” said a bench chaired by Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, ordering the minor’s safe abortion.
During an extended Friday night session beyond the regular court hours, the bench, which included Justice JB Pardiwala, instructed Mumbai’s Sion Hospital to investigate right away if the girl’s or the fetus’s physical or mental health could be in danger if the pregnancy is carried out, and they asked for a report by Monday, April 22.
After the Bombay High Court on April 4 rejected the girl’s mother’s appeal for a medical termination of the pregnancy, the girl’s mother hurried to the Supreme Court.
Aishwarya Bhati, the Centre’s additional solicitor general, sought the bench to use its exceptional powers under Article 142 on Monday to bring the case to a full conclusion. She did this by citing a medical assessment that indicated the minor’s well-being may be affected by the continuation of the pregnancy.
After accepting her plea, the court used its authority under Article 142 to order the minor’s pregnancy to be immediately terminated, mentioning the minor’s age and the alleged sexual assault. “Bearing in mind the exigency of the situation and well-being of the minor, we set aside the order of the Bombay High Court,” stated the court, ordering a group of medical professionals from Mumbai’s Lokmanya Tilak Municipal Medical College and General Hospital in Sion to perform the pregnancy termination.
The attorney representing the Maharashtra government agreed to pay for the procedure’s medical costs.
The high court made its decision on April 4 based on an evaluation conducted by a medical board comprised of doctors from Mumbai’s JJ Hospital. However, the petition contended that the girl had not had a sufficient examination and called for the Supreme Court to get involved.
The bench on Friday emphasized the need for such consideration in light of the girl’s stressful pregnancy circumstances and underlined the lack of a thorough evaluation of her physical and mental state in the medical reports.
On that day, the court gave instructions for a medical board of doctors at Sion Hospital to assess the minor’s health on Saturday, April 20, in light of the sexual assault she had experienced.
Abortions beyond 24 weeks are normally illegal under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, unless the woman’s life is in grave danger or there are significant fetal abnormalities.