Unwanted pregnancy resulting from sexual assault constitutes grave injury to mental health justifying medical termination beyond 24 weeks.

The applicant, a minor victim aged 14 years and 9 months, sought a direction for the medical termination of her pregnancy resulting from an alleged rape.

An FIR (No. 11203025250915 of 2025) was registered under Section 137(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, and the POCSO Act, 2012.

A court-ordered medical board from GMERS General Hospital, Junagadh, examined the victim and reported her pregnancy to be at 28 weeks.

The medical report indicated that while there was no maternal physical health contraindication, the pregnancy resulted from sexual assault and its continuation would cause grave injury to her mental health.

1. Whether the medical termination of a pregnancy exceeding 24 weeks can be permitted in the case of a minor rape survivor where the pregnancy poses a risk of grave injury to her mental health.

2. Whether the "best interest" of the minor victim and her right to reproductive choice under Article 21 outweigh the statutory temporal limits of the MTP Act.

The Court applied the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Act, 2021, specifically Section 3, which recognizes that a pregnancy caused by rape constitutes a "grave injury to the mental health of the woman".

Article 21 of the Constitution of India regarding the right to live with dignity and bodily integrity.

Precedents: X v. Union of India (2023) regardinglifting the 24-week temporal limit; XYZ v. State of Gujarat (2023) on reproductive choice as personal liberty; and Suchita Srivastava v. State (UT of Chandigarh) (2009) establishing the "best interest" theory for victims.

The Court analyzed the medical board's report, which confirmed the pregnancy was at 28 weeks and that termination was feasible under the MTP Act guidelines.

Drawing from Minor R through Mother H v. State of NCT of Delhi, the Court reasoned that forcing a minor rape victim to bear a child would cause unexplainable mental agony and violate her right to a dignified existence.

The Court noted that even though the 24-week limit is generally the threshold, the law recognizes the autonomy of the pregnant woman and the paramount importance of her mental health.

By applying the "best interest" theory, the Court determined that the trauma of carrying a fetus resulting from sexual assault justified an exceptional direction for termination beyond the standard statutory period.

The Court directed GMERS General Hospital, Junagadh, to proceed with the medical termination immediately, ensuring a team of senior gynecologists and a psychologist is involved, preserving fetal tissue for DNA identification, and mandating State responsibility if the baby is born alive and the victim is unwilling.