Delhi High Court Allows Abortion Beyond 24 Weeks for 17-Year-Old Rape Survivor
The Delhi High Court has allowed the termination of a pregnancy that had crossed 29 weeks for a minor rape survivor, holding that the 24-week limit under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971, cannot be the sole factor in deciding such matters. The court said each case must be examined on its own facts, including the age of the pregnant woman, the reason for the pregnancy, medical opinions, and her rights and interests.
A single-judge bench of Justice Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar noted that the petitioner is a minor girl of about 17 years, and that the pregnancy is unwanted and was conceived from rape, for which an FIR has been registered at Police Station Khyala, Delhi. The court relied on a Medical Board report, which found her "medically & psychologically fit for termination of pregnancy." The Board was constituted at the hospital where she is admitted.
The petitioner, acting through her grandmother, had approached the court under Article 226 read with Article 21 of the Constitution and Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, seeking directions for termination under Section 3(2) of the MTP Act. She and her grandmother submitted that continuing the pregnancy would cause grave mental injury and psychological trauma. The State, the first respondent, said appropriate directions could be passed in light of the medical report and the law.
The court referred to a Supreme Court decision in S v. Union of India (2026 INSC 446), where termination was permitted at 28 weeks. It noted the Supreme Court's view that constitutional courts exercising jurisdiction under Article 226 or Article 32 are not bound by the MTP Act's gestational limits and must prioritise welfare, dignity, bodily integrity, and reproductive autonomy, especially for minors. No woman, and certainly not a minor rape survivor, can be forced to carry an unwanted pregnancy to term just because the gestational limit has been crossed, the court observed.
Allowing the petition, the court directed that the procedure be performed by competent doctors under the MTP Act and its rules, with the Medical Board keeping a complete record. The hospital must preserve the foetal tissue for DNA testing in the pending criminal case. The State must bear the costs of the procedure, the survivor's stay, and post-operative care. If the child is born alive, the hospital and state authorities must provide all feasible medical support, keep the child in an incubator, and inform the Child Welfare Committee. If the minor and her family wish, the child may be given in adoption as per procedure. The authorities must strictly protect the survivor's identity.
The case was titled Minor V through Grandmother M v. State of NCT of Delhi & Anr. (Neutral Citation: 2026:DHHC:2446). Advocate Anwesh Madhukar appeared for the petitioner, along with Prachi Nirwan, Pranjal Shekhar, and Diptasree Bag. ASC Amol Sinha appeared for the respondent.
Source: Verdictum