Supreme Court: Paying heed to the grievance of a 35-year-old woman, a victim of sexual assault, who sought for termination of pregnancy on the ground that she is HIV positive, the 3-judge bench of Dipak Misra, A.M. Khanwilkar and M.M. Shantanagouda, JJ directed the Medical Board at AIIMS, New Delhi to examine the petitioner and submit a report to the Court on the next date of hearing i.e. 08.05.2017 so that attempts can be made to save the life of the petitioner.
Earlier, the Patna High Court had directed the Medical Board at Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna to examine the petitioner. The report of the said Board stated that a major surgical procedure was required. The High Court hence held that the Medical Board report has stated that it would be unsafe to the life of the petitioner and further there is compelling State’s responsibility to keep the child alive.
Stating that the quintessential purpose of life, be it a man or a woman, is the dignity of life and all efforts are to be made to sustain it, the Court said that a woman, who has already become a destitute being sexually assaulted and suffering from a serious medical ailment, should not to go through further sufferings. [Indu Devi v. State of Bihar, 2017 SCC OnLine SC 560, order dated 03.05.2017]
