Punjab and Haryana High Court orders termination of rape victim's pregnancy

Saurabh Malik

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Chandigarh, June 28

The High Court has made it clear that the anguish caused by pregnancy will be presumed to constitute a grave injury to a rape victim’s mental health. It may, as such, be terminated.

The assertion came as the HC directed the making of immediate arrangements for the medical termination of a 26-year-old rape victim’s pregnancy.

Before going to the merits of the matter, Justice Vikram Aggarwal of the High Court referred to the provisions of Section 3 of the MTP Act amended by the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Act, 2021.

“A perusal of the provision shows that where the length of the pregnancy does not exceed 20 weeks and the continuance of such a pregnancy would involve a risk to the life of the pregnant woman or of grave injury to her physical or mental health and further wherein a pregnancy has been caused by rape, the anguish caused by the pregnancy shall be presumed to constitute a grave injury to the mental health of the pregnant woman, the same may be terminated,” Justice Aggarwal asserted.

In his detailed order, Justice Aggarwal asserted that a three-Judge Bench of the Supreme Court, dealing with the issue of termination of an unmarried woman’s pregnancy, came to the conclusion that the provisions were not required to be given a narrow interpretation.

Among other things, the judgment stated that the state would be stripping women of the right to determine immediate and long-term path their lives would take if they were forced to carry their unwanted pregnancies.

Depriving women of autonomy, not only over their bodies, but also over their lives, would be an affront to their dignity. Reverting to the facts of the case in hand, Justice Aggarwal asserted that the petitioner was a major aged around 26. The medical board’s report showed that the gestational age of the foetus as on June 10 was 10 weeks and five days.

Taking into consideration the fact that the petitioner’s case was covered by the provisions of Section 3 of the Act and also in view of the medical board’s review, Justice Aggarwal disposed of the petition with a direction to make immediate arrangements for medical termination of the pregnancy in accordance with the provisions of the MTP Act.