Supreme Court Allows A Rape Victim Permission To Terminate Pregnancy

A bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan of the Supreme Court, while hearing an urgent plea of a rape survivor, observed that forcing a woman to continue pregnancy and have a child as a result of rape would be against the constitutional philosophy.

The court was deciding the case of XYZ v. State of Gujarat (Diary No. 33790-2023), where a 25-year-old rape survivor appealed for termination of her pregnancy after being denied the same by the Gujarat High Court. 

Facts of the Case

•  A petition was filed by a 25-year-old rape victim, who is an adivasi woman hailing from a remote village in Gujarat who was raped under the false pretext of marriage.  
• The aggrieved party filed a petition in the Gujarat High Court under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution, Section 482 of the CrPC and Section 3 of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971
• When the petitioner was 26 weeks pregnant, a medical board, which was constituted on the order of the High Court, found the petitioner to be medically fit for abortion. 
• The writ petition in High Court was filed on August 8, and the Board submitted its findings on August 10 to a single-judge bench headed by Justice Samir J. Dave.
• The High Court did not entertain the plea for abortion while adjourning the hearing till August 23rd. 

Findings of the Supreme Court

• The Apex Court acknowledged urgency of the appeal of the petitioner, hence criticizing the 12-day postponement of the hearing. Justice Nagarathna asked as to how the court could put the plea on standby until August 23rd, wasting so many valuable days. 
• Though the case was postponed until August 23, the High Court later advanced the date to August 17, on which day the petition was dismissed without providing any reason. The order of dismissal read that on August 17th, the fetus was almost 27 weeks old,and based on statements made on behalf of the petitioner-victim, the present petition stands rejected. 
• The Supreme Court allowed the rap survivor to terminate her 7-week pregnancy. The Apex Court ordered the girl to terminate the pregnancy and to visit a hospital in Bharuch so that the procedure could be done. After the medical tests conducted by the Hon’ble Supreme Court, the rape victim was declared fit to undergo a medical procedure. 
• The Court opined that the issue before the court was whether birth should be given or not to an unwanted child; the Gujarat High Court did not take it into consideration. The Court also observed that it was not right for the High Court not to allow for medical termination.  
• The Court held that in Indian society, the birth of a child is a matter of great joy for a couple within the institution of marriage; however, outside of marriage, unwanted pregnancy would have negative impact on the mental health of the woman. The Supreme Court, in its various decisions, has already held that a woman has a sacrosanct right to bodily integrity. 
• The Court also chided the court over its decision to reject the petition of the rape victim seeking abortion. 

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