Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971

A 14‑year‑old girl, X, who alleged sexual assault, became pregnant and sought termination of her pregnancy beyond the statutory 24‑week limit. The High Court denied the request, relying on a clarificatory opinion of a medical board that did not assess the impact on X's physical and mental health. The Supreme Court set …

The case concerned a 19‑20‑year‑old woman with mild to moderate mental retardation, an orphan residing in a government welfare home, who became pregnant around the 19th week of gestation after an alleged rape. The Chandigarh Administration sought the High Court’s approval to terminate the pregnancy, invoking the Medica…

Surendra Chauhan, who had an illicit relationship with a 24‑year‑old woman named Alpana, took her to the clinic of Dr. Ravindra Sharma, an unqualified electro‑homeopathic practitioner, for an abortion. Alpana died during the procedure, and Chauhan later confessed to her mother that he had arranged the abortion. The tri…

The appellant, Vinitha Ashok, filed a consumer complaint alleging medical negligence after losing her uterus during a termination of pregnancy at Lakshmi Hospital. She claimed the doctors performed an unnecessary MTP without ultrasonography, used an improper cervical dilatation device, and failed to send the uterus for…

The State of Punjab and a lady surgeon were sued by Shiv Ram and his wife for damages after the wife became pregnant and gave birth despite having undergone a tubectomy in 1984. The trial court and the High Court awarded Rs.50,000, holding the State liable for the failed sterilisation. On appeal, the Supreme Court exam…

The petitioner, an unmarried woman residing in Delhi, discovered she was 22 weeks pregnant after a consensual relationship ended and she lacked livelihood to raise a child. She filed a writ petition seeking permission to terminate the pregnancy under Section 3(2)(b) of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act and…

The appeal concerned the interpretation of Section 2(d) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, where the appellant, a mentally retarded adult, argued that "age" should include mental age so that she could be treated as a child. The Court examined the POCSO Act's objects and reasons, its d…

The Supreme Court considered a Special Leave Petition filed by Rekha Sengar seeking bail under Section 439 of the CrPC after being charged in a non‑bailable offence under the PC&PNDT Act for alleged prenatal sex determination and sex‑selective abortion. A sting operation led to the seizure of an unregistered ultrasound…

Indrakunwar was convicted under Section 302 IPC for allegedly killing a newborn child she was said to have delivered and then thrown into a pond. The prosecution’s case rested on circumstantial evidence and the accused's statement under Section 313 CrPC, but failed to establish any relationship between the accused and …

Ms. Z, a 35‑year‑old destitute woman with mild mental retardation and HIV‑positive status, alleged that she had been raped and sought termination of her 18‑week pregnancy under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971. The government hospital failed to perform the termination, involving the appellant’s father and…

The petitioner, a 27‑year‑old mother of two, filed a writ petition under Article 32 seeking a medical termination of her pregnancy after discovering she was about 24 weeks pregnant, citing postpartum depression and financial constraints. The Court initially ordered termination, but a doctor from the AIIMS Medical Board…

Meera Santosh Pal, a 22‑year‑old woman, petitioned the Supreme Court under Article 32 seeking permission to terminate her 24‑week pregnancy after the fetus was diagnosed with anencephaly, a lethal condition that also endangered her life. A seven‑member Medical Board examined her and concluded that continuation of the p…

Mrs. X, a 22‑year‑old woman, was about 24 weeks pregnant when a medical board diagnosed her fetus with bilateral renal agenesis and anhydramnios, conditions that rendered the fetus non‑viable and posed a risk to the mother's physical and mental health. She filed a writ petition under Article 32 of the Constitution seek…

The Voluntary Health Association of Punjab filed a writ petition seeking effective implementation of the Pre‑Conception and Pre‑Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex‑Selection) Act, 1994, alleging that many states had failed to enforce its provisions and that sex‑selective abortions continued unabated. The Co…

The Federation of Obstetrics and Gynecological Societies of India (FOGSI) challenged the constitutional validity of sections 23(1) and 23(2) of the Pre‑conception and Pre‑natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, 1994, arguing that the provisions presumed guilt and violated Articles 14, 19(1)(g) a…