High Court seeks report from docs who carried out ‘medical termination of pregnancy of rape victim’

Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court has sought for an explanation from the doctors who carried out the medical termination of the pregnancy of a rape survivor despite the Court ordering for only the formation of a medical board to look into the pros and cons of the medical termination.

“Such action on the part of the concerned doctors transpires prima facie to be an over-action, since the court had not permitted, in terms of the concerned statute, that the medical termination of pregnancy be carried out but had merely sought for a report regarding its pros and cons. Hence, an explanation is required to be given by the concerned doctors who carried out the procedure as to why the termination was carried out in such hot haste without there being any direction of the court, indication further if there was any particular cause of such urgency,” Justice Sabyasachi Bhattacharyya directed. The state had been directed to submit the report, which is authored by the concerned doctors who conducted the procedure. The matter will be heard on February 9.

On January 29, the Single Judge had ordered for the formation of at least two-member medical board to examine the survivor. The 27-year-old survivor had approached the court seeking termination since the conception due to the heinous crime has left a trauma both physically and mentally.

According to the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971, if a pregnancy is between 20 to 24 weeks, the pregnancy can be terminated under certain conditions, the yardstick being that their must be some risk to the life of the mother or grave injury to the health of the person concerned, either physically or mentally. It was argued that the petitioner suffers from grave injury, particularly mental.

However, the state counsel pointed out that since the incident took place on July 20, 2023, the pregnancy may be more advanced than pleaded. Justice Sabyasachi Bhattacharyya directed that since the court is not an expert in the field, a medical board is required to ascertain the pros and cons of medical termination in the case.