The Indore Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court has laid out a detailed procedure to ensure timely legal and medical assistance in cases involving the termination of pregnancies, specifically in the case of a minor girl who had been gang-raped. In its ruling, the Court criticized the "acute insensitive approach" of the trial court, particularly for expecting a rape survivor to provide medical documents as part of the process.

The case involved the petitioner—the mother of the minor—who sought the termination of her 19-week pregnant daughter’s pregnancy. The petition was initially filed before the trial court on November 30 but was rejected on December 5 due to the absence of supporting medical documents. Justice Subodh Abhyankar, in his order, highlighted that the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act of 1971 does not mandate such applications be filed in the district court. Given the life-or-death implications of the case, the petition should have been addressed by the High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution. The Court observed, "The application itself ought not to have been considered on merits by the learned Judge of the District Court."

Further, the High Court condemned the trial court’s approach, calling it "cruel" for requiring a rape survivor to present her medical documents. This was described as a display of a complete lack of empathy for a minor victim of gang rape.

The State counsel submitted a medical report from the Civil Surgeon, Chief Health Officer/Superintendent of Ujjain, confirming that the girl was fit for the termination of her pregnancy with written consent, following due procedures. Given this, the High Court allowed the petition and directed that the pregnancy be terminated in accordance with the medical procedures at the Civil Surgeon’s office in Ujjain.

The Court noted that procedural delays had caused a two-week delay, which was detrimental to the minor’s health and could have been avoided with quicker action from all involved parties. In response, the Court established a procedure to be followed in all future cases of rape:

1. The SHO of the said police station, on the basis of the MLC of the survivor indicating that she is pregnant, shall forthwith forward the survivor to the concerned District Court;
2. the learned Judge of the District Court, regardless of any application for termination of pregnancy, though not maintainable, filed before it or not, shall refer the survivor to the concerned medical officer/Board to expeditiously submit its report, if the pregnancy of the victim can be terminated;
3. the District Court, after obtaining the said medical report, under intimation to the survivor and her parents, directly refer such case and report to the nearest Registry of the High Court;
4. the Registry of this Court, in turn, shall register such reference as a Writ Petition under Article 226 of the Constitution, Suo Moto, and list the matter immediately before the concerned Bench having the roster, so that appropriate orders regarding termination of pregnancy can be passed by this Court without any undue delay.

The High Court directed that this procedure be communicated to the Registrar General of the High Court in Jabalpur and the Director General of Police in Bhopal for circulation to all police stations to ensure compliance with the order.

Cause Title: X v/s The State Of Madhya Pradesh And Others

Case No: WRIT PETITION No. 39431 of 2024

Date: December-12-2024

Bench:  Justice Subodh Abhyankar

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