All women are entitled to safe and legal abortion: Supreme Court
New Delhi: Calling the distinction between married and unmarried women who conceive as unconstitutional, the Supreme Court passed a landmark judgment on Thursday, saying that unmarried women too had the right to get their pregnancy terminated, said sources in livelaw.in.
The apex court bench said that the 2021 amendment to the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act was applicable to all women, giving them the right to safe and legal abortion. “The Constitution does not differentiate between married women and unmarried women who conceive out of a consensual relationship,” the court pointed out, said the sources.
Justice D Y Chandrachud, who headed the bench, said that Rule 3B of the Act consisted of the categories of women whose pregnancy in the 20th to 24th week duration could be terminated. “Assuming that Rule 3B(C) is applicable to only married women would further the stereotypical notion that only married women are sexually active. Such artificial distinction between the categories of women is not constitutionally sustainable,” he said.
The judge stressed that the rights of reproductive autonomy are as applicable to unmarried women as to the married. “All women should be given the autonomy to exercise these rights freely,” he added.
“The Act, which was enacted in 1971, had focused on married women, but the law had to change as societal systems and norms change. The provisions of a law had to be interpreted keeping in mind the contemporary social realities, including the changes in family structures,” said the judge.
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NEET student hangs self in Rajasthan's Sikar
Jaipur (PTI): A student preparing for the NEET examination allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in a rented room in Rajasthan's Sikar on Friday, police said.
According to the police, the student allegedly hanged himself from a ceiling fan using his sister's scarf while one sister was attending coaching classes and the other was in the bathroom.
He had appeared in the NEET UG exam 2026, which was cancelled due to paper leak, they said.
Udyog Nagar SHO Rajesh Kumar said that the deceased, identified as Pradeep Meghwal, was a resident of Kanika ki Dhani village in Jhunjhunu's Gudha Gaudji area.
He had been living in a rented room in Sikar's Jaldhari Nagar area with his two sisters while preparing for NEET over the last three years.
His elder sister later found him hanging and informed the landlord and police after bringing him down, officials said.
The SHO said the body was kept at SK Hospital mortuary, and a postmortem had not been conducted.
The student's father, Rajesh Kumar Meghwal, told police that Pradeep's NEET examination had gone well and the family was expecting him to score around 650 marks.
Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot expressed grief over the incident and linked it to anxiety among students after reports of irregularities and paper leaks in NEET 2026.
Pilot said repeated paper leak incidents and cancellation of examinations were affecting students' mental health and demanded a time-bound investigation and strict action against those responsible.
