July 11, 2019

While addressing to a petition seeking termination of pregnancy beyond 20 weeks; hon’ble Delhi High Court ordered that the right to terminate pregnancy cannot be refused only on the basis that the gestation period has continued beyond 20 weeks.

The hon’ble bench comprising of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice C Hari Shankar said, “It is difficult to refuse the permission to undergo medical termination of pregnancy in certain circumstances.”

The hon’ble bench referred to the judgment of the hon’ble Supreme Court in Tapasya Umesh Pisal v. Union of India & Ors. [(2017) AIR (SCW) 3931]. In this particular judgment, the Supreme Court allowed the termination of pregnancy because the foetus; if allowed to born, would have a limited life span with serious handicaps which cannot be avoided.

Section 3(2)(b) of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 states:

Where the length of the pregnancy exceeds twelve weeks but does not exceed twenty weeks; if not less than two registered medical practitioner are, of opinion, formed in good faith, that –

(i) Firstly, the continuance of the pregnancy would involve a risk to the life of the pregnant woman or of grave injury to her physical or mental health; or

(ii) Secondly, There is a substantial risk that if the child were born, it would suffer from such physical or mental abnormalities to be seriously handicapped.

Further, the bench opined that the provisions of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 have to be construed; as a part of cumulative dispensation and not isolated from each other. The court said that it is convinced that, even in a case where the condition of the foetus is, as in the instant case, incompatible with life; the rigor of Section- 3(2) deserves to be relaxed.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This field is required.

This field is required.

Disclaimer

The following disclaimer governs the use of this website (“Website”) and the services provided by the Law offices of Kr. Vivek Tanwar Advocate & Associates in accordance with the laws of India. By accessing or using this Website, you acknowledge and agree to the terms and conditions stated in this disclaimer.

The information provided on this Website is for general informational purposes only and should not be considered as legal advice or relied upon as such. The content of this Website is not intended to create, and receipt of it does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship between you and the Law Firm. Any reliance on the information provided on this Website is done at your own risk.

The Law Firm makes no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, regarding the accuracy, completeness, reliability, or suitability of the information contained on this Website.

The Law Firm disclaims all liability for any errors or omissions in the content of this Website or for any actions taken in reliance on the information provided herein. The information contained in this website, should not be construed as an act of solicitation of work or advertisement in any manner.