Madhya Pradesh- HC allows termination of minor rape survivor’s eight-week pregnancy

Madhya Pradesh: HC allows termination of minor rape survivor’s eight-week pregnancy

The Madhya Pradesh High Court, in a recent judgment, allowed a 17-year-old teenager to undergo medical termination of her pregnancy of over eight weeks. The court directed her father to submit an affidavit affirming the accusation made by the girl against the accused during the trial, PTI reported.

A bench led by Justice G S Ahluwalia reviewed the plea of the minor victim on January 2, granting the order after she sought termination of her pregnancy. The girl, around 17 years old, became pregnant after being raped on October 23 of the previous year, as per the complaint lodged in Sagar district of the state.

The accused was charged under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 376, 376 (2)(n), sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act based on this complaint.

The court said, “It is directed that before the termination of pregnancy of the petitioner, the father of the petitioner shall submit his affidavit before the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) of Sagar district to the effect that she was subjected to rape by the accused and has filed the present writ petition for medical termination of pregnancy of his minor daughter and in the light of the permission granted by this court, he is ready to get the pregnancy of his minor daughter terminated.”

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Furthermore, the court instructed the trial court to report to the registrar general of the High Court if the victim denies the rape or claims to be of legal age, including the deposition sheet of the victim.

The court directed the investigating officer to acquire a certified copy of the aforementioned affidavit. This copy was to be kept in the case diary and presented before the medical board. The termination of the pregnancy was permitted by the board only after the production of this affidavit, as stated in the court order.

The minor girl, through her father, filed a petition seeking court direction for the termination of the pregnancy, which stood at eight weeks and five days, in the interest of justice, as per the court order.