The Supreme Court on Tuesday constituted a medical board to examine whether it would be safe to medically terminate the 26-week pregnancy of a 14-year-old rape victim.
A bench led by Chief Justice S.A. Bobde issued notice to the Centre on a plea by the victim. She has sought the court’s permission to medically terminate her 26-week-old pregnancy.
The bench, which also comprises Justices A.S. Bopanna and V. Ramasubramanian, issued notice and directed medical board to submit its report within a week.
The petitioner, a 14-year-old girl from Haryana, stated that she was “cruelly raped” by her cousin which led to the unwanted pregnancy. It has been alleged in the plea that accused had taken nude pics of the victim and used to threaten her.
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The petitioner has also taken a ground that as the accused was a direct blood relative, the child so born of the union could have mental and physical abnormalities and therefore termination of pregnancy should be allowed.