While acceding to the request of the minor victim of forcible sexual intercourse/rape, the Chhattisgarh High Court (Bilaspur Bench) allowed the petitioner for medical termination of her pregnancy. Finding that the petitioner is a victim of forcible sexual intercourse/rape, the Court highlighted that the victim is desirous of terminating the pregnancy as she does not want to give birth to the child of a rapist.
The Court therefore ruled that not permitting rape victim to go in for medical termination of unwanted pregnancy would amount to compelling her to continue to bear such pregnancy for full duration and deliver the child, which would be violative of her bodily integrity, it would not only aggravate her mental trauma but would also have devastating effect on her overall health including on psychological and mental aspects.
Emphasising that a woman’s right to make reproductive choices is also a dimension of “personal liberty” as understood under Article 21 of the Constitution, the Court strongly held that it is the personal choice of the rape victim to terminate pregnancy, as it is a facet of her personal liberty, and continuation of pregnancy can gravely endanger her physical and mental health.
Briefly, as per the direction of the Court in November 2024, the Chief Medical Officer was directed to arrange the medical examination of the petitioner by a team of experts, including a Gynaecologist, as to the viability of the termination of pregnancy. In compliance with the said direction, the doctors, who medically examined the petitioner, have opined that, as gestation age is 21 weeks 1 day, the medical termination of pregnancy can be performed according to the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 2021.
Referring to Section 3 of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, 1971, a Single Judge Bench of Justice Parth Prateem Sahu observed that where the pregnancy is alleged by the pregnant woman to have been caused by rape, the anguish caused by such pregnancy shall be presumed to constitute a grave injury to the mental health of the pregnant woman.
Also, the Bench added that where the life of a pregnant woman is at risk, termination of pregnancy would be permissible despite the provision contained in sub-section (2) of Section 3 of the MTP Act.
Reference was made to the decision in the case of X v. Union of India [(2016) 14 SCC 382], where the Supreme Court held that in the case of grave danger to physical and mental health, termination of pregnancy of a pregnant woman (an alleged rape victim) is permissible. Accordingly, the Bench allowed permission for the medical termination of the pregnancy of the petitioner
Appearances:
Advocate Aman Tamboli, for the Petitioner
Advocate Upasana Mehta, for the Respondent
