New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday asked a 15-year-old pregnant girl to "unambiguously" state whether she consents to terminate her foetus as she has changed her stand on the matter several times.
The court said, before passing any order, it wanted to be sure that the girl, who told the judges on Tuesday that she wanted to abort her pregnancy, will not change her mind again.
A bench of justices S Muralidhar and IS Mehta noted that the girl, who had left her house and married a man on her free will, changed her mind thrice between December 8, when she appeared before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC), and December 13, when she had gone for her medical examination to AIIMS, and again today while appearing before the court.
The police had on November 27 taken into custody, the man to whom the girl was married under the provisions of the Protection Of Children from Sexual Offences Act and the IPC.
She appeared before the CWC on December 8 and stated that she wished to terminate her pregnancy, after which an AIIMS doctor was directed to examine her to ascertain if terminating her pregnancy was safe and medically advisable.
The doctor noted that her pregnancy was a result of rape, as she was aged less than 18 years. He also said termination of her pregnancy was not advisable.
Section 3(2) (b) of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act prohibits abortion of a foetus after 20 weeks of pregnancy.
During the day's hearing, both the judges spoke to the girl in chamber and she reiterated that she wishes to terminate her pregnancy and also said that she had told the doctor that she did not wish to do so.
The court said, before passing any order, it wanted to be sure that the girl, who told the judges on Tuesday that she wanted to abort her pregnancy, will not change her mind again.
A bench of justices S Muralidhar and IS Mehta noted that the girl, who had left her house and married a man on her free will, changed her mind thrice between December 8, when she appeared before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC), and December 13, when she had gone for her medical examination to AIIMS, and again today while appearing before the court.
The police had on November 27 taken into custody, the man to whom the girl was married under the provisions of the Protection Of Children from Sexual Offences Act and the IPC.
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She appeared before the CWC on December 8 and stated that she wished to terminate her pregnancy, after which an AIIMS doctor was directed to examine her to ascertain if terminating her pregnancy was safe and medically advisable.
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The doctor noted that her pregnancy was a result of rape, as she was aged less than 18 years. He also said termination of her pregnancy was not advisable.
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Section 3(2) (b) of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act prohibits abortion of a foetus after 20 weeks of pregnancy.
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During the day's hearing, both the judges spoke to the girl in chamber and she reiterated that she wishes to terminate her pregnancy and also said that she had told the doctor that she did not wish to do so.
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