In a landmark ruling, the Bombay High Court has granted permission to a 23-year-old unmarried woman to terminate her 21-week pregnancy, marking a significant step towards ensuring equality under the law. The court emphasized that restricting such permissions to only married women would constitute a discriminatory and narrow interpretation of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, thus violating Article 14 of the Constitution, which guarantees equality before the law.
The decision came after the woman petitioned the court, citing financial and personal constraints that would prevent her from adequately caring for a child. Her pregnancy had surpassed the standard legal limit of 20 weeks for termination, prompting the need for court intervention. Despite opposition from the Maharashtra government, which argued that the woman did not meet the criteria specified under Rule 3-B of the MTP Rules, the division bench of Justices Sarang Kotwal and Neela Gokhale dismissed the narrow statutory interpretation proposed by the state.
Rule 3-B currently allows only certain categories of women—including sexual assault victims, minors, widows, divorcees, women with physical or mental disabilities, and cases involving fetal abnormalities—to terminate a pregnancy up to 24 weeks. The state contended that the woman’s situation did not align with these categories, as her pregnancy resulted from a consensual relationship.
The woman, at 21 weeks pregnant in September 2024, was advised by JJ Hospital to seek legal permission for the procedure, given the gestational age. In their ruling, Justices Kotwal and Gokhale noted that limiting the law’s application to married women only reinforces societal stereotypes and undermines the rights of unmarried women.
The court’s decision is in line with a prior Supreme Court ruling that acknowledged the rights of unmarried women under the MTP Act, stressing the necessity for legal interpretations that do not discriminate based on marital status. The Bombay High Court also urged the Union government to reconsider and revise the forms, formats, and procedures under the MTP Rules to ensure they reflect this inclusive approach.
