The Chhattisgarh High Court recently denied permission to a woman seeking medical termination of her pregnancy as strained relationship with the husband or a derailed marriage is not a ground under sub-Section 2 of Section 3 of the Medical Termination Pregnancy Act 1971.

The bench held that since the woman did not conceive because of any sex crime and had conceived with her husband, therefore the permission cannot be granted.

Observing that if Courts start to entertain such petitions, the very object of the Act would get defeated, a bench of Justice P Sam Koshy further noted, “In India, abortion is considered to be a crime. The medical practitioners are restrained from carrying out abortion unless until the situation gravely requires the pregnant lady to undergo abortion. That too is only on the advice of a qualified medical practitioner who upon medically examining the pregnant lady, reaches to the conclusion that there is an apparent danger to the life or risk to the physical and mental health of the pregnant lady or there could also be a situation where there is a substantial risk that the child if born would suffer from serious deformities and diseases”.

Advocate Ritesh Verma appeared for the petitioner and P.L. Pawan Kesharwani appeared for the State.

In this case, the petitioner aged 29 years, sought permission to medically terminate her pregnancy on the ground that her relationship with her husband has got strained.

The petitioner also accepted the fact that she had conceived out of the relationship. Documents were also placed before the Court to establish the fact that they were married.

However, considering the ground on the basis of which medical termination of pregnancy was sought, the bench observed that “only for the sake of asking as the relationship between the two have got strained” the permission cannot be granted.

“…it is apparently clear that the petitioner did not get conceived because of any sex crime committed upon her without her consent and knowledge. The petitioner is a married lady there is no claim of the petitioner that she got conceived by any other person other than her husband, neither has the petitioner been able to make out a case seeking for permission for medical termination of pregnancy on the grounds which are otherwise provided under Section 3(2)(a)(b)”, the bench had further noted in the matter.

Resultantly, the Court dismissed the matter.

Cause Title: XYZ v. State of Chhattisgarh and Ors.

Click here to read/download the Order



Justice P. Sam Koshy

Agatha Shukla