SC Criticizes Gujarat HC’s Delay in Processing Abortion Plea for Rape Survivor: ‘Precious Time Lost’

The Supreme Court conducted an urgent session to address a rape victim’s plea for pregnancy termination, nearing 28 weeks. The woman sought recourse from the Supreme Court after the Gujarat High Court declined her plea.

Justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan presided over the special session at 10.30 am.

The petitioner’s attorney, Shashank Singh, revealed that the medical board favored pregnancy termination, but the High Court rejected the abortion plea.

The counsel informed the bench that the High Court received the writ petition on August 7, and on August 8, a medical board was formed to assess pregnancy status. The board’s report was presented on August 10, and on August 11, the Court accepted the report, adjourning the case to August 23.

The Supreme Court voiced astonishment at the High Court’s 12-day delay. Justice Nagarathna expressed dismay, saying, “How can the court stand it over to 23rd August? How many valuable days would have been lost by then!”

The bench’s dissatisfaction was recorded in the order, noting that the High Court scheduled the case 12 days later on August 23, disregarding the case’s urgency. The Court acknowledged the significance of time lost between August 11 and August 23.

The counsel stated that the case was listed before the High Court on August 17, resulting in dismissal. However, the dismissal order hadn’t been uploaded yet. The Court instructed the Supreme Court’s Secretary General to verify with the Gujarat High Court Registry if the order had been uploaded.

“We will wait for the order. How can we proceed without the order?” Justice Nagarathna expressed frustration. “Urgency is imperative in such cases. Not a lackadaisical attitude treating it as routine! We regret making these remarks,” Justice Nagarathna added.

The bench ordered a fresh medical examination of the petitioner and required her to undergo an examination at the hospital again on the same day. The report must reach the Supreme Court by Sunday. The bench scheduled the next hearing for Monday as the first item on the agenda.