Delhi HC: Abortion due to marital discord valid

The judge noted that the mental trauma experienced by a woman facing marital discord can result in serious mental health issues, causing both physical and psychological harm.

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday held that a woman’s decision to terminate a pregnancy due to marital discord is valid under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act and does not amount to the offence of intentionally causing miscarriage.

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A bench of justice Neena Bansal Krishna observed that mental trauma arising from marital discord can be significantly aggravated during pregnancy and may constitute a valid ground for termination if continuation of the pregnancy poses a risk to her physical or mental health.

To be sure, Section 3(2)(b)(i) of the MTP Act allows a woman to terminate a pregnancy of up to 20 weeks if its continuation poses a risk to her physical or mental health. Additionally, Section 3B also allows a woman to terminate a pregnancy of up to 24 weeks, due to a change of marital status during the pregnancy, such as divorce or widowhood.

In her 28-page verdict, the judge noted that the mental trauma experienced by a woman facing marital discord can result in serious mental health issues, causing both physical and psychological harm.

“The golden thread running through the provisions of the MTP Act is the concern for grave injury to a woman’s physical or mental health, which must be assessed in the context of her actual or reasonably foreseeable environment,” the court held. It added that mental health issues often arise from difficult social and psychological situations faced by women at particular stages of life.

The court also took note of the social realities confronting women. “The harsh reality of this misogynistic world cannot be ignored while considering the mental trauma of a woman facing marital discord, which gets compounded many times if she is pregnant… It is only a woman who suffers.”

Emphasising reproductive autonomy, the court held that abortion is a deeply personal decision that must rest solely with the woman. Forcing a woman to continue an unwanted pregnancy, it said, violates her bodily integrity and worsens her mental suffering. The court clarified that the rights of an unborn foetus cannot be placed above those of a living woman. “The right to exercise reproductive choice, though regulated by the MTP Act, also recognises and protects a woman’s right to refuse continuation of a pregnancy where her mental or physical health is at stake,” it said.

The verdict came while hearing a petition filed by a woman challenging a trial court order of August 2025, which had summoned her under Section 312 of the Indian Penal Code (causing miscarriage) for terminating her 14-week pregnancy.

The case originated from a complaint filed by the woman’s husband, who accused her and her brother of cheating and other offences, alleging financial extortion and emotional pressure before and after marriage. He also claimed that the woman underwent an illegal abortion without his consent, amounting to an offence under Section 312 IPC.

While a magistrate had summoned the woman and her relatives on multiple charges, a sessions court later discharged all others and dropped all charges except the allegation under Section 312 IPC against the woman.

Before the high court, the woman argued that the abortion was carried out lawfully under the MTP Act, within the permissible gestational limit and under medical supervision. She contended that there was no criminal intent and that the decision was compelled by mental cruelty and an unstable matrimonial environment that made it unsafe for her to continue the pregnancy.

Accepting her submissions, the high court quashed the summons and discharged her, holding that stress arising from marital discord was likely to adversely affect her mental health and entitled her to seek termination of the pregnancy under the law.