Allahabad HC allows termination of 20 weeks pregnancy of a minor rape victim

• After examining the recommendation of the Medical Board formed by the Vice-Chancellor of King Georges Medical University, a bench of the Allahabad High Court comprising of Justices Ritu Raj Awasthi and Dinesh Kumar Singh allowed the termination of a juvenile rape victim's pregnancy on July 23rd.

• The current appeal was filed by the father of a child rape victim who had been allegedly raped by accused-Sarvesh and had since suffered stomach ache and her menstrual cycle had halted. She was later discovered to be pregnant.

• Following that, by order dated 09.07.2021, the Court instructed the Vice-Chancellor of King Georges Medical University to form a Medical Board for the victim's medical assessment. According to the board's report presented to the court, the victim's fetus is 20 weeks old and, based on medical opinion, the pregnancy can be terminated under The Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Act, 2021.

• The court permitted the victim's pregnancy to be terminated within a week at an approved medical hospital after examining the medical report presented to the court by Mr Subham Tripathi, learned counsel for King Georges Medical University.