New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday issued notice on a contempt petition alleging non-compliance with its earlier order permitting medical termination of a 15-year-old minor’s pregnancy, warning that contempt of court charges could be framed if its directions were not implemented.
A Bench of Justices B.V. Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan, while hearing a contempt plea filed by the minor’s mother, directed the Union Health Secretary and the Director of AIIMS, New Delhi, to appear via video conferencing on May 4.
“If they do not comply with our order by Monday, then let them be prepared for further directions in the contempt proceedings. We are not concerned with anything but that the order of this court is complied with. If they do not comply by Monday, we will frame the charges. We will hear them before framing charges,” the Justice Nagarathna-led Bench observed.
In its April 24 ruling, the apex court had set aside the Delhi High Court’s refusal to permit termination of the 28-week pregnancy and held that the reproductive autonomy of the minor girl must receive the “highest importance”.
“No court ought to compel any woman, and more so a minor child, to carry a pregnancy to full term against her express will,” the Supreme Court had said, adding that such compulsion would disregard decisional autonomy and inflict “grave mental, emotional and physical trauma”.
It had further ruled that in cases of unwanted pregnancy, Constitutional courts must weigh the welfare of the pregnant woman rather than prioritising the unborn child, observing that “what is of relevance is the choice of the pregnant woman rather than the interest of an unborn child”.
The bench had recorded that the girl, herself a minor, had allegedly attempted suicide twice after learning of the pregnancy and said forcing continuation of the pregnancy would amount to a “direct affront to her right to live with dignity”.
It had then directed that the termination procedure be carried out at the earliest at the AIIMS with all medical safeguards in place.
Subsequently, the AIIMS challenged the ruling through a review petition, which was dismissed by the top court on Wednesday in unusually sharp terms.
“It is strange that the review petitioner, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, is not inclined to obey the order of the Supreme Court 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 herein,” the bench said while rejecting the plea.
Earlier in the day, a Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi also refused to entertain AIIMS’ curative petition against the abortion order. The CJI-led Bench stressed that “unwanted pregnancy cannot be thrust on a person”, adding: “Minor child cannot be forced to bear a pregnancy.”
It further urged the Centre to revisit the Medical Termination of Pregnancy law to remove gestational restrictions, remarking: “Please amend your law… that when there is pregnancy due to rape etc., the time limitation will not be there. The law needs to be organic and in sync with evolving time.”
(IANS)
