Delhi HC allows unmarried woman to terminate pregnancy beyond 22 weeks

The bench said the continuation of pregnancy, which resulted from a relationship entered into under the false pretext of marriage, would prevent her from healing from the scars of violation.

The Delhi High Court has allowed a 30-year-old unmarried woman to terminate her pregnancy beyond 22 weeks, holding that forcing her to continue with it would only compound her trauma and subject her to lifelong stigma.

The woman had alleged that she entered a live-in relationship with the accused on the promise of marriage.

A bench of justice Ravinder Dudeja, in his verdict delivered on Wednesday, said the continuation of pregnancy, which resulted from a relationship entered into under the false pretext of marriage, would prevent her from healing from the scars of violation.

“The court is of the considered opinion that suffering of the victim cannot be compounded if she is forced to continue the pregnancy. Apart from above, the victim is bound to face social stigma which may not permit the scars left by the defilement of her body to heal,” the court said in the order.

In this case, the woman had alleged that she entered a live-in relationship with the accused on the promise of marriage. She first became pregnant in November/December last year, but was forced to terminate the pregnancy. She conceived again in June 2025, and when she refused to undergo another termination, the accused allegedly assaulted her on May 15 and abandoned her. She then filed an FIR under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including charges of rape, voluntarily causing hurt, and criminal intimidation.

In her petition, she argued that the pregnancy was the outcome of sexual abuse and continuing it would cause grave harm to her physical and mental health while subjecting her to further stigma. Although she sought medical termination, doctors advised court approval since her pregnancy had crossed 20 weeks and the criminal case was pending.

The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), in its medical report, found her fit to undergo termination.

Under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, abortions are legally permitted up to 20 weeks. Following a 2021 amendment, certain categories of women -- including survivors of sexual assault -- may terminate pregnancies up to 24 weeks, with medical board approval. The law also permits courts to allow termination beyond 24 weeks in exceptional cases involving fetal abnormalities or serious risks to the woman’s mental or physical health.