Kamal Ghorui
New Delhi: The stand-off between AIIMS and a Delhi woman keen on medical termination of the 28-week pregnancy of her 15-year-old daughter has got embroiled in legal proceedings with Supreme Court dismissing the hospital’s review plea against its order allowing termination, the woman moving a contempt petition against the Union health secretary, and the Centre stepping in with a curative plea. On April 24, a bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan allowed medical termination on a plea from the mother and directed AIIMS-Delhi to undertake the exercise.Advanced stage no bar to terminate pregnancy: SCIn a detailed order, it held that medical termination of unwanted pregnancy cannot be rejected on grounds of advanced stage of pregnancy or normalcy of fetus. Not allowing the termination on that basis would “render the right to bodily autonomy nugatory”, the bench had said. Three days later, AIIMS sought a review of SC’s order. Referring to medical ethics and right of an unborn child, AIIMS said it would lead to preterm delivery of a deformed baby needing prolonged neonatal ICU support. The bench on Wednesday dismissed the review plea and said, “It is strange that the review petitioner, AIIMS, is not inclined to obey the SC’s order and instead is assailing the order of this court dated 24.04.2026 in order to defeat the constitutional rights of the minor daughter of the appellant.” The mother has filed a contempt petition against Union health secretary Punya Salila Srivastava through her lawyer Rahul Sharma. In her petition, listed for hearing Thursday, she has sought contempt proceedings for non-compliance of SC’s order. Centre has also filed a curative petition, which is the last resort to seek judicial remedy, against the apex court’s order. The curative petition is likely to be mentioned before the Chief Justice of India for urgent listing. As time is running out for the girl, the outcome of Thursday’s proceedings would finally decide the controversy.
