Gurugram doctor sentenced to 5 years in prison for conducting illegal abortions

According to the police, the man ran a clinic in Ashok Vihar, Sector 3, and was conducting ultrasounds and prescribing abortion pills without required licenses or permits from the health department in 2017.

A doctor was sentenced to five years of rigorous imprisonment for conducting illegal abortions and served a fine of ₹25,000 by a Gurugram court on Tuesday. He was held guilty of the offences under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, 1971.

The police had received a complaint about illegal abortions taking place at the clinic from the district health department in January 2017. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

According to the police, the man ran a clinic in Ashok Vihar, Sector 3, and was conducting ultrasounds and prescribing abortion pills without required licenses or permits from the health department in 2017, the time the police investigated the clinic and booked the doctor.

Subhash Boken, police spokesperson, said the police had received a complaint about illegal abortions taking place at the clinic from the district health department in January 2017, following which they conducted a raid and arrested the doctor. MTP kits such as pills and ultrasound reports were recovered from the clinic, the police said, adding that during the raid, the clinic admitted a woman for the procedure, from whom they charged ₹15,000. No record of registration was found with the clinic, officials said.

Following the raid, the police registered a case at Sector 5 police station on January 7, 2017, and the trial began soon after.

The accused had pleaded the court to take a lenient view sentencing stating that he was the sole bread winner in his family, as per the order of the court of the additional sessions judge. The public prosecutor, however, submitted that the convict had committed a heinous crime and so, was not entitled for any leniency, the order stated.