Delhi high court allows rape victim to terminate pregnancy

The high court disposed of the victim’s plea who said she repeatedly raped between February 14 and August 29 this year. She said the accused initially raped her by drugging her.He also took embarrassing and compromising photographs and videos of her.

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday allowed a 20-year-old rape victim to terminate her eight-week pregnancy, which she alleged was a result of a sexual assault on her.

The high court disposed of the victim’s plea who said she repeatedly raped between February 14 and August 29 this year. She said the accused initially raped her by drugging her.He also took embarrassing and compromising photographs and videos of her. (AFP)

The high court noted that under the law, pregnancy of less than 12 weeks can be terminated if a medical practitioner comes to the conclusion that it would cause harm, including mental trauma, to the mother.

The court said that in this case, as per facts and circumstances, it saw no reason for a medical practitioner not to accept her plea to end the pregnancy. It allowed the victim to approach Lady Hardinge Medical College, as desired by her, for medical termination of her pregnancy.

The court directed that a female police official should accompany her to the hospital where the termination would be carried out at the state’s expense, as the victim was from the economically weaker sections.

It granted her additional plea for preservation of tissue samples of the foetus for the purpose of DNA testing.

The court directed the hospital to preserve a tissue sample and forward the remaining to the investigating officer probing the case.

The high court disposed of the victim’s plea who said she repeatedly raped between February 14 and August 29 this year. She said the accused initially raped her by drugging her.He also took embarrassing and compromising photographs and videos of her.

He repeatedly raped her by threatening to leak her pictures and videos , she alleged in her petition.

She lodged an FIR on September 17, 2017. When she was medically examined, she was found to be pregnant, the plea said.

The victim had initially moved an application before the additional chief metropolitan magistrate (ACMM) in Tis Hazari court on September 20 for permission to medically terminate her pregnancy. However, the magisterial court had declined to grant any relief, saying it was not the appropriate forum.