Delhi High Court seeks report on minor rape victim's plea seeking MTP

New Delhi:The Delhi High Court on Tuesday while hearing a plea by a minor rape victim seeking Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) directed the Medical Superintendent of Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital to constitute a board and examine the victim as expeditiously as possible and submit a report.

A singl+e judge bench of Justice Vibhu Bakhru after passing the orders posted the matter for hearing on February 6.

The plea filed through advocates Anwesh Madhukar and Prachi Nirwan was mentioned before a division bench of the high court presided over by Chief Justice D. N. Patel and Justice C. Harishankar on Monday, which kept the matter for hearing on Tuesday in the court of Justice Bakhru.

The petitioner sought directions of the court to ensure that the pregnancy of the girl is medically terminated.

"The petitioner is a minor girl of 16 years of age and a rape victim. The medical examination of the victim was conducted and the matter was further referred for opinion as the victim was found 24 weeks pregnant, pursuant to which an FIR was registered," the petition read.

It further read: "The petitioner is aggrieved as section 3 of Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act (MTPA) does not permit the termination of pregnancy in case the period of gestation is more than 20 weeks."