ABC Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) We are, in this writ petition, confronted with a difficult and disheartening situation. The father of a minor girl is before us praying for an order permitting his daughter (hereafter called 'Y') to medically terminate her pregnancy, which has now progressed to the 24th week. It would appear that 'Y' had eloped with her paramour, a married man, and the efforts of her parents to trace her did not meet with any success till almost five months later, when the police authorities managed to trace her location to Mangalore. The paramour was arrested and charged under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, and 'Y' was restored to the custody of her parents. By that time, however, the pregnancy of 'Y' had already advanced considerably.

(2.) Although the petitioner approached the Sessions Court seeking permission to terminate the pregnancy, the said court did not entertain the petition citing jurisdictional reasons. The court was apparently of the view that the maximum permitted period for termination of a pregnancy, based on the opinion of two registered medical practitioners, under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971, viz. twenty weeks, had already expired by then. It is therefore that the petitioner is before us through the present writ petition.

(3.) The learned counsel for the petitioner, mentioned the case at the special sitting on 01.04.2020, organized through video conferencing on account of the outbreak of the COVID-19 Pandemic. On sensing the urgency, we permitted the petitioner to move the writ petition the very next day viz. 02.04.2020. On the said date, we deemed it necessary to have 'Y' examined by a Medical Board duly constituted for the purpose, with the inclusion of a psychiatrist therein to ascertain the wishes of 'Y' as regards the continuation of her pregnancy, as also her overall mental state and maturity level. The order passed by us on 02.04.2020 reads as under: