J&K High Court Allows Abortion for 11-Year-Old Beyond 24-Week Limit

The Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has allowed an 11-year-old girl to terminate her pregnancy, ruling that the statutory 24-week ceiling under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act cannot by itself deny constitutional protection to a child. Justice Wasim Sadiq Nargal, disposing of a petition filed on the minor's behalf, directed the authorities to act immediately, observing that a girl of about 11 years cannot be compelled to carry a pregnancy resulting from sexual assault.

The order followed a medical board's assessment that the pregnancy had reached 24 weeks and two days as of September 22, the date of the judgment. The board had examined the minor on September 11 on the court's directions and found her physically and mentally fit to undergo the procedure. It noted that termination at this stage was medically feasible but carried heightened maternal and procedural risks, including haemorrhage, infection and the possible need for a blood transfusion.

Justice Nargal held that the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971, and Rule 3-B of the corresponding Rules, 2003, must be read in harmony with the High Court's constitutional jurisdiction under Article 226. Referring to a Supreme Court judgment of April 24, 2026, in S versus Union of India, he noted that a constitutional remedy cannot be refused merely because a case falls outside a statutory remedy. A constitutional court, he said, must examine the circumstances from the pregnant woman's perspective rather than mechanically requiring an unwanted pregnancy to continue once the statutory period has lapsed.

The court recorded that the delay was not due to any deliberate inaction by the petitioner but arose while medical opinion was obtained and the relief was under judicial consideration. It held that the passage of 24 weeks could not, on the peculiar facts of the case, be viewed in isolation or bar constitutional protection.

The Principal or Medical Superintendent of the Associated Hospital, Government Medical College, Baramulla, has been directed to make all necessary arrangements for the procedure at the earliest. The minor is to be allowed her mother or lawful guardian present during the process and must receive psychological counselling and support before and after it. Should specialists consider that she needs care at a better facility, the court said she should be referred and transported there immediately without a further order.

With the alleged accused still at large, the court directed the authorities to preserve foetal tissue and material for DNA profiling and any other examinations the investigation may require.

The minor had moved with her family to Baramulla in March this year. She developed fever, vomiting, cough and abdominal pain, was initially taken to a local practitioner and later examined at a sub-district hospital, where an ultrasound revealed the pregnancy. Questioned by doctors, she disclosed that an unknown person had forcibly subjected her to sexual intercourse during her stay in Kashmir. The matter was reported to the police, and she was placed in protective custody at a shelter home. The alleged offender has not yet been arrested.