MTP Act- Anguish Caused By Pregnancy Of Rape Victim Constitutes Grave Injury To Mental Health: Allahabad HC Sets Up Board To Conduct Medical Examination

Coming to the rescue of a minor rape victim, the Allahabad High Court has constituted a Medical Board for carrying out a medical examination and submitting its recommendation and opinion on the feasibility of medical termination.

On oral mention made by Advocate Nipun Singh for the petitioners over the urgency of the situation, the matter was taken up by a bench of Justices Manoj Kumar Gupta and Deepak Verma.

The petitioner, a rape victim, had approached the High Court, through her father for a mandamus directing the respondent state to permit her to terminate her undesirable pregnancy.

She relied on Explanation-I to sub-section (2) of Section 3 of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 and submitted that the pregnancy has resulted in such extreme anguish to her that it constituted grave injury to her mental health.

Furthermore, a medical examination held on July 24, 2021 at B.B.D. Government Hospital, Bulandshahr, revealed that the age of fetus at that time was 14.6 weeks meaning thereby that as of date the pregnancy was of about nineteen weeks. (As per the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Act, 2021, the outer limit for abortion permissibility has been enhanced to twenty four weeks)

The Bench relied then relied on Explanation-I to Section 3 of the MTP Act, which permitted termination of pregnancy of a victim of rape by raising a presumption that the anguish caused by pregnancy in such cases constitute a grave injury to her mental health. 

Accordingly, the Principal, Lala Lajpat Rai Memorial Medical College, Meerut has been directed to constitute a Board of four experts one each in the field of Gynecology, Psychiatry, Radiology or Sonology and Pediatrics for carrying out medical examination of petitioner, and submit its recommendation in sealed cover to the First Additional District Judge, Meerut, who shall act as a member cum co-ordinator of the medical Board.

The First Additional District Judge has been asked to transmit the report to the High Court positively by September 2, 2021.

The opinion/recommendation of the Board shall inter-alia be on the following aspects:
a) Length of pregnancy;
b) Whether continuance of pregnancy would involve any risk to the life of the petitioner no. 1;
c) Whether continuance of pregnancy would otherwise result in any grave injury to the petitioner no.1;
d) Whether there is substantial risk that if the child were born, it would suffer from any serious physical or mental abnormality.

The petitioner has been asked to present herself before the Medical Board for medical examination on August 31, 2021 at 11 am. 

Standing Counsel Mohan Srivastava was also directed to communicate the instant order to the Senior Superintendent of Police, Bulandshahr, who shall provide full security to the petitioner and person accompanying her to medical college, Meerut for medical examination.

Additional Advocate General Manish Goel, who was present before Court on its request, undertook to communicate the order to the Principal, Lala Lajpat Rai Memorial Medical College, Meerut within 24 hours so that it was duly complied with.

The case will now be taken up as fresh on September 3, 2021.

Case Title: CD (2021) v State of UP and Anr

Click here to Download the Order.