No court nod needed for rape survivors to abort up to 24 weeks: MP High Court

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has ruled that rape survivors with pregnancies of up to 24 weeks do not require court permission to seek a legal medical termination of pregnancy. The judgment, delivered by a Single Bench of Justice Sandeep N. Bhatt in Indore on August 11, came while hearing a petition filed by the father of a 16-year-old sexual assault survivor seeking approval for termination of her 18-week pregnancy.

The petitioner cited the extreme mental trauma the survivor would face if forced to continue the pregnancy. However, the court said the matter did not require judicial intervention and disposed of the plea, referring to a February 20, 2025 verdict of the High Court's Division Bench in Jabalpur.

In that earlier ruling, the Division Bench had clarified that under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, 1971, survivors of sexual assault, rape, or incest with pregnancies up to 24 weeks who wish to undergo an abortion do not need to initiate judicial proceedings under Article 226 of the Constitution. The court also issued directions to the State's Health Commissioner to communicate this judgment to all hospitals, particularly government hospitals, for future reference.

“The Commissioner, Health Department, may also communicate the aforesaid order passed by the Division Bench to all the concerned hospitals more particularly the Government Hospitals, so that they can also take care of the situation in future,” the Indore Bench order read. “With the above directions, since no intervention is required in the matter, present petition is dismissed,” it added.

The February 2025 judgment, delivered by a Division Bench headed by the then Chief Justice Suresh Kumar Kait, laid down standard operating procedures (SOPs) for officials and medical officers dealing with pregnancies of rape or incest survivors. The SOPs cover both cases where the pregnancy is less than 24 weeks and those where it exceeds 24 weeks. For pregnancies up to 24 weeks, authorities were told not to demand any legal or magisterial requisition or other documentation as a precondition. Court permission is required only if the pregnancy is beyond 24 weeks.

This ruling clarifies the existing legal framework and aims to reduce procedural hurdles for survivors seeking timely medical care. It reinforces that the MTP Act provides a statutory right to termination within the prescribed gestational limit, without requiring survivors to approach courts for permission.