Don’t compel doctor to disclose identity of pregnant minor: HC to Palghar police

Bombay HC directs Palghar police not to compel gynaecologist to reveal minor's identity for pregnancy termination; girl permitted to undergo procedure.

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Tuesday directed the Palghar police not to compel a gynaecologist to disclose the identity of a minor girl who sought to terminate her 14-week pregnancy. A division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Manjusha Deshpande also permitted the girl to undergo the termination procedure.

HT Image

The gynaecologist filed the petition, seeking direction from the police to not force him to disclose the identity of the 16-year-old girl. As per the plea, the girl and her mother approached the petitioner seeking to terminate her pregnancy. The girl claimed that she was in a consensual relationship and did not intend to register an FIR.

However, since she was a minor, the doctor reported her pregnancy to the police, as required under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012. The doctor also informed the police that the girl and her mother did not want to disclose her name or any other identity. However, the police visited the clinic seeking to know the girl’s identity and insisted that the doctor should have sent the girl and her mother to the police station to lodge a complaint.

The doctor, in his plea, relied on a Supreme Court order of 2022, stating that disclosure of a minor girl’s identity was not required while reporting the matter to the police. The Apex Court clarified that the Medical Termination of Pregnancies Act, 1971 protects the privacy of a woman whose pregnancy is terminated by the registered medical practitioners and in fact provides punishment for doing so.

The petitioner doctor claimed that minors who engage in consensual sex and get pregnant avoid going to a registered doctor out of fear and stigma and making it mandatory for them to reveal their identity fails to protect and respect their privacy. The high court has kept the petition for further hearing on June 26.