ByAbraham Thomas, New Delhi
Apr 30, 2024 06:00 AM IST
Supreme Court recalls order allowing 14-year-old rape victim to terminate pregnancy over 30 weeks, stating child’s interest is paramount.
The Supreme Court on Monday recalled its order permitting a 14-year-old rape victim to terminate her pregnancy of over 30 weeks, holding that the “interest of the child is paramount” after the girl’s parents agreed to wait for her to deliver the baby.
The bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud passed the order after holding a chamber hearing in the presence of the victim’s mother, her lawyers, additional solicitor general (ASG) Aishwarya Bhati appearing for the Centre and doctors at Mumbai’s Sion hospital, which had been directed by the top court on April 22 to medically terminate the pregnancy.
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Recalling the order for abortion, the bench, also comprising justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, interacted with the victim’s mother and doctors noted the concerns raised by the former about the safety of their daughter’s health. On the other hand, the doctors informed the court that the child does not suffer from any abnormality. The bench held, “In such cases, the interest of the child (unborn) is paramount.”
Prior to the in-chamber hearing that took place post-lunch, the bench was informed in the morning about a letter sent by the hospital pursuant to the court order. The letter written on April 26 conveyed apprehensions by the doctors who said the victim’s mother was not able to decide whether to go for an abortion and was prevaricating on whether to continue the pregnancy. The mother’s lawyer denied this charge.
The bench said, “We want to clarify that the court does not direct medical termination of pregnancy, but we went by the choice of the person. In such cases, we normally go by the consent of the woman, but in this case, it got complicated as she is a minor and a rape victim.”
The court had used its extraordinary powers under Article 142 to direct termination of pregnancy as the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act prohibits abortion beyond 24 weeks unless the pregnancy poses a severe threat to the potential mother’s life or involves substantial foetal abnormalities.
Doctors at Sion hospital were faced with a dilemma as the court order required them to carry out the abortion while the victim’s mother was unprepared, putting the onus back on the doctors.
The court clarified, “We have authorised the doctors. Ultimately, it is a call doctors have to take. They are the ones who are on the ground. We cannot say that we will override what the child wants, the mother wants or what the doctors want.”
The bench was confronted with this case after the minor girl’s mother approached the top court against an April 4 decision of the Bombay high court declining the request for a medical termination of the pregnancy.
The HC relied on a medical board’s report from JJ hospital which failed to examine the victim. The top court directed her to be re-examined by doctors at Sion hospital, who said that continuing the pregnancy could impact the minor’s well-being.
The order of April 22 said, “Bearing in mind the exigency of the situation and well-being of the minor, we set aside the order of the Bombay high court.”
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