Overview
- A two-judge bench led by Justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan on Friday set aside a Delhi High Court refusal and allowed the procedure at AIIMS, New Delhi.
- The court said no judge can force a woman, especially a minor, to continue an unwanted pregnancy and located reproductive choice within personal liberty and privacy under Article 21.
- Solicitor General Tushar Mehta urged adoption through the Central Adoption Resource Authority and offered financial support, but the bench held the pregnant minor’s choice prevails over the interest of the unborn child.
- The order noted the teen’s severe mental distress, including reported suicide attempts, and warned that denying relief pushes minors toward unsafe, illegal abortions.
- Clarifying the law, the court said constitutional courts may grant relief under Articles 226 or 32 when the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act’s deadlines bar statutory remedies, with late-term care to follow strict medical safeguards.