4 min readNew DelhiMay 5, 2026 03:12 PM IST
The Supreme Court Monday dropped contempt of court proceedings against the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) after the hospital confirmed it had complied with directions to medically terminate the 30-week pregnancy of a 15-year-old girl.
Appearing for AIIMS, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Aishwarya Bhati informed a bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan that the medical termination of pregnancy (MTP) procedure resulted in the birth of a baby boy. The ASG reported that the infant, born with certain disabilities, has an 80 per cent survival rate and is currently in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
The contempt petition was originally filed by the minor’s mother, alleging that AIIMS had failed to comply with an April 24 court order authorising the termination. AIIMS initially hesitated, seeking a review and later a curative petition. The institute argued that at 30 weeks, the procedure carried a high risk of the child being born alive with congenital disabilities, and suggested allowing the foetus a few more weeks to grow to ensure a healthy delivery for adoption.
However, the top court emphasised that forcing the minor to carry an “unwanted pregnancy” to term would violate her fundamental right to reproductive autonomy under Article 21.
After the review petition was dismissed, AIIMS filed a curative petition to recall the April 24 order, but that too was rejected, and the court issued a contempt notice to the institute.
On Monday, Justice Nagarathna admitted the difficulty of the situation. “It’s not easy for us here. There is nobody who is winning, nobody is losing this. But then we have to take a decision without emotion. I hope it doesn’t come to this again in the sense that we don’t want any more unwanted pregnancies coming for termination,” the judge said.
Concerns over minor pregnancies
Explaining that AIIMS should carry out the procedure in similar cases, she said that without that, the women would depend on unqualified practitioners, risking their lives.
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“If AIIMS does not assist them, they will go to some bylane or quack, and a minor’s life would be in jeopardy,” she said.
Justice Bhuyan said that the MTP Act was intended to prevent hapless women, afraid of the social consequences, from having to depend on unqualified practitioners. The judge also flagged what she said were the rising instances of “unwanted pregnancies”, especially among minor girls.
Justice Nagarathna also flagged a concerning societal trend regarding the rise of unwanted pregnancies among minors. She noted that by the time families detect the pregnancy and overcome the initial shock to make a decision, the term often reaches the seven-month mark, creating a legal and medical crisis.
“The shock of the girl who is not married and is a minor having become pregnant, and the decision of the family on what to do… This is a mischief. Either a lacuna in the law and tendency in the society. Somebody has to answer it,” Justice Nagarathna said.
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Rejecting the curative plea, Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, presiding over a two-judge bench, had asked the government to consider amending the MTP Act to ensure that the statutory time limit for allowing the procedure does not apply to minor rape victims.
ASG Bhati said it was extended in 2021 to 24 weeks, from the earlier 10- or 12-week periods, and that the courts should also keep the unborn baby’s interests in mind in such cases.
Underscoring the risks associated with MTP, Bhati had, in earlier hearings, referred to a 2025 case involving a rape survivor where a child born at 23 weeks continues to suffer from “severe, life-altering, and permanent complications” at AIIMS.
“Someday, your lordships will also have to consider what happens to such babies. This baby has an 80 per cent chance of survival, but with disabilities, with lifelong disabilities?”, she said and called for sex education to children to avoid such scenarios.
