Delhi HC allows widow to terminate 29-week pregnancy due to mental health concerns
New Delhi, Jan 5: The Delhi High Court has allowed a widow, suffering from depression, to terminate her 29-week foetus as continuation of pregnancy could affect her mental health and observed that the right to reproductive choice also includes the right not to procreate.
The high court noted that there was a change in the marital status of the woman, who lost her husband on October 19, 2023, and came to know about her pregnancy on October 31, 2023.
Justice Subramonium Prasad said the woman should be permitted to terminate her pregnancy because allowing her to continue with it can impair her mental stability as she was showing suicidal tendencies.
"Accordingly, the petitioner (woman) is permitted to undergo the procedure for termination of her pregnancy at AIIMS. AIIMS is requested to conduct the procedure even though the petitioner has crossed her gestation period of 24 weeks," the high court said.
It, however, made clear that the order has been passed in the peculiar facts and circumstances of the present case and it shall not be treated as a precedent.
The court referred to a Supreme Court judgment in which it held that it is the prerogative of each woman to evaluate her life and arrive at the best course of action in view of the change in material circumstances.
"The right to reproductive choice also includes the right not to procreate," the high court said.
The woman, who got married in February 2023, lost her husband in October after which she came to her parents' house and got to know that she was 20 weeks pregnant.
In December, she decided not to continue with her pregnancy as she was suffering from extreme trauma due to the demise of her husband and approached doctors for termination.
However, since the gestation period was more than 24 weeks, the permissible limit to abort a foetus, she was not granted permission.
Thereafter, the woman approached the court seeking permission to medically terminate her pregnancy and a medical board was constituted to assess her health condition.
AIIMS, in its report, said that the woman was provisionally diagnosed with depression with problems related to the death of a spouse and a differential diagnosis of adjustment disorder and added that at this time, it cannot be speculated definitively whether the continuation of pregnancy can be detrimental to the petitioner's health from a psychiatric viewpoint.
Rule 3(B) of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Rules permits a woman to terminate her pregnancy up to 24 weeks with certain conditions.
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ED cracks down on suspected interstate liquor racket, raids 9 sites in Arunachal
Itanagar (PTI): The Enforcement Directorate has carried out coordinated searches at nine locations across Arunachal Pradesh in connection with a suspected large-scale interstate liquor smuggling and money laundering network, officials said on Monday.
The action, taken under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), is part of an expanding probe that points to a syndicate exploiting tax differentials among states.
Officials said liquor designated for sale within Arunachal Pradesh was allegedly diverted and supplied illegally to markets in Assam and other states.
The searches, conducted earlier this week, spanned multiple towns such as Itanagar, Naharlagun, Seppa, Ziro, Daporijo, Namsai and Roing, targeting wholesale liquor businesses suspected of being linked to the network.
According to officials, the investigation stems from a series of FIRs registered by Assam Police over the illegal transportation of liquor from Arunachal Pradesh into Assam.
Inputs from the Assam Excise Department further strengthened the case. An Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) was registered on October 17, 2024, and later widened through an addendum incorporating 173 additional FIRs.
Earlier searches conducted on February 4 last year, at premises linked to three alleged key operators, believed to be major liquor manufacturers, had revealed indications of a well-coordinated operation.
Investigators suspect that the network functioned through a chain of manufacturers, bonded warehouses and wholesalers, while masking real ownership using proxy arrangements such as tribal partnerships and dummy licence holders.
During the latest ED operations, the agency found that several wholesale units were operating under proxy licences issued in the names of local individuals, while actual control remained with the suspected masterminds.
Financial scrutiny revealed that between 51 and 90 per cent of total credits in certain bank accounts comprised unexplained cash deposits.
Investigators also flagged a pattern of invoice splitting, with transactions deliberately kept below Rs 2 lakh to avoid scrutiny. In one instance, more than 200 invoices of identical value of Rs 1,99,554 were generated within a single month at one location.
On-ground staff reportedly confirmed that records, including stock registers and daily cash collections, were being routed to offices associated with the alleged controllers.
The ED said it seized approximately Rs 40 lakh in unaccounted cash during the searches.
In a significant finding, 14 seals, some purportedly belonging to the Excise Department of the Arunachal Pradesh government, were recovered from one of the premises. These are suspected to have been used to create fake transport permits to facilitate the unauthorised movement of liquor.
Further investigation is underway, officials added.
