16-Year-Old Rape Victim’s Abortion Plea Rejected by Court

Bareilly: The application for abortion by a 16-year-old rape victim was rejected by a fast-track court, here on Wednesday.

The applicant is currently 30 weeks pregnant, and her application was rejected by the court despite there being precedents regarding late termination of pregnancy sought by rape survivors. The court said that the case was “different” from the earlier precedents. Meanwhile, her father stated that she was 19 weeks and six days pregnant when a complaint was lodged with the police on June 7, 2016. She was raped by her employer and the pretext of marriage, he said.

Her father stated that she was 19 weeks and six days pregnant when a complaint was lodged with the police on June 7, 2016.

The girl had initially filed an application for termination of pregnancy in the court of additional chief judicial magistrate-2 (ACJM-2) in July, when she was 26 weeks pregnant. However, the court rejected her application on July 26. The girl’s father filed a revision in the session court against the order of the lower court. The session court transferred the case to the fast-track court.

“I opposed the termination of the pregnancy on the basis of Section 3 of Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act. It is clearly mentioned that the period of pregnancy should not exceed 12 weeks for abortion. The length of pregnancy can exceed 12 weeks but not 20 weeks if it involves a risk to the life of the pregnant woman,” said counsel Sahu.