Delhi HC agrees to hear minor's petition seeking termination of pregnancy

The Delhi High Court on Monday agreed to hear a minor's plea seeking permission to terminate her 24 weeks old pregnancy.

The minor's advocate Prachi Nirwan mentioned in her plea before a Division Bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice C Harishankar for an urgent hearing.

The bench allowed the matter to be heard on Tuesday.

In the plea, the advocate told the court that minor is a rape victim and is 16 years old. Her medical examination was conducted on January 25, 2020, in a hospital in Rohini, Delhi.

The matter was further referred for an opinion as the victim was found 24 weeks pregnant. Pursuant to her medical report, an FIR was registered under provisions of IPC and POCSO Act in Swaroop Nagar, Delhi on January 25.

She requested the Delhi High Court to direct the concerned authorities to ensure that the pregnancy of the petitioner is medically terminated. The hospital had asked her to get approval from the court to terminate her pregnancy.

She also said that the petitioner is aggrieved as Section 3 of Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act 1971 does not permit the termination of pregnancy in case the period of gestation is more than 20 weeks old.

She also told the court that the pregnancy poses a substantial risk to the petitioner as she herself is of tender age.