A medical board will be set up at a Mumbai hospital to examine the condition of an alleged rape survivor who wants to abort her 24-week-old “abnormal” foetus, the Supreme Court said on Friday.
A medical board will be set up at a Mumbai hospital to examine the condition of an alleged rape survivor who wants to abort her 24-week-old “abnormal” foetus, the Supreme Court said on Friday.
A bench comprising Justice Arun Mishra and headed by Justice J.S. Khehar directed that a medical board examine the woman at King Edward Memorial College and Hospital, Mumbai, by
Saturday and submit its report to the apex court on Monday. The bench said that the medical board’s report with regard to the woman’s condition will be assessed and, if necessary, some directions will be passed.
The bench further asked senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, who is appearing for the woman, to ensure that she reaches the said hospital by Saturday for her examination. Meanwhile, solicitor general Ranjit Kumar said that the Centre was ready to constitute a medical board at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) where the woman could be examined. However, Mr Gonsalves replied that the condition of the woman, who at present is in Mumbai, was very bad and she would not be able to travel to Delhi.
“Delay in these matters is very bad. There should not be any delay in these matters,” ruled the SC bench, adding that a larger issue of law would be dealt with separately.
“The issue at hand is not that simple. It will be dealt with separately,” it said.
The apex court on Thursday had sought a reply from the Centre and the Maharashtra government on the woman’s plea. The woman has also challenged the constitutional validity of provisions of the abortion law that prohibit termination of pregnancy after 20 weeks if there is a grave risk to the mother and foetus. In her petition, the woman has alleged that she was ‘raped by her ex-fiance’ on false promises of marriage and thus became pregnant. She has sought direction to quash section 3(2)(b) of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 to the extent that it puts a ceiling of 20 weeks on abortion, which is unreasonable, arbitrary, harsh, discriminatory and violative of the right to life and equality.
