NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court of India has opposed the ruling of the Gujarat High Court regarding the plea of a rape survivor seeking permission to terminate her pregnancy at 26 weeks. During a special session on Saturday, the Indian Supreme Court expressed its disagreement with the actions of the Gujarat High Court. Justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan, comprising the bench, criticized the High Court for causing unnecessary delays in the case proceedings.

The petitioner's legal representative informed the apex court that the 25-year-old woman had initially approached the high court on August 7, and the case was taken up the following day. Subsequently, on August 8, the Gujarat High Court directed the formation of a medical board to assess both the pregnancy status and the petitioner's health condition. The medical college where the petitioner was examined provided the assessment report on August 10.

Remarkably, the top court observed that although the high court officially accepted the report on August 11, the case was inexplicably postponed until August 23. This delay was concerning to the Supreme Court, which highlighted the crucial nature of time in such circumstances, emphasizing that each day's delay was significant given the facts of the case.

Furthermore, the bench pointed out that the petitioner's counsel had informed them that the case status indicated the high court had dismissed the petition on August 17, yet no reasons were presented during the court proceedings, and the official order had not been uploaded onto the high court's website. To address this, the Supreme Court directed its secretary general to liaise with the registrar general of the High Court of Gujarat to confirm the status of the order.

The two-judge bench questioned the Gujarat High Court's rationale for deferring the matter to August 23, considering the report had been available since August 10. The Supreme Court emphasized the need for urgency in handling such cases and criticized any lackadaisical approach towards them.

The case concerned an appeal challenging the August 17 ruling of the Gujarat High Court that had denied the request for terminating the pregnancy of the rape survivor, who was 26 weeks pregnant at the time. Advocate Vishal Arun Mishra filed the plea, while advocate Shashank Singh represented the survivor before the Supreme Court.

The petitioner's legal representative informed the bench that the petitioner was currently 27 weeks and two days pregnant, and she would soon enter her 28th week. The Supreme Court responded by seeking a response from the Gujarat government and ordering a fresh medical examination of the rape survivor. The next hearing was scheduled for Monday.

The court directed the petitioner to undergo another examination at KMCRI hospital and instructed that the latest status report be submitted by Sunday evening at 6 PM. Advocate Swati Ghildiyal represented the State of Gujarat in this matter.

The petitioner's counsel pointed out that the report indicated the possibility of terminating the pregnancy. According to the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, the upper limit for pregnancy termination is 24 weeks for married women and other vulnerable categories, including rape survivors, differently-abled women, and minors.

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