The Delhi High Court has formulated a set of guidelines to be followed while dealing with survivors of sexual assault/rape, seeking medical termination of pregnancy (MTP).
The single-judge Bench of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma directed that a comprehensive medical examination should be conducted without any delay in all cases, wherein a survivor of rape/sexual assault was found to be pregnant.
The High Court observed that in cases wherein the survivor was accompanied by an investigating officer or produced pursuant to the direction of a Court or CWC, it was the responsibility of the IO to identify her and carry the necessary documents, such as identification proofs & case files.
When produced before a medical board, the hospital/doctors concerned should not ask for the survivor’s identification proof or identity card for conducting an ultrasound or any relevant/necessary diagnostic procedure. The identification by the IO should suffice in such cases, it added.
In cases where the gestational period had exceeded 24 weeks, the medical board shall be constituted immediately without waiting for any specific direction from the Court, ordered the single-judge Bench, adding that the Medical Board should conduct necessary medical examination and prepare an appropriate report at the earliest and place before the authorities, so that an order may be passed without delay.
It ordered that in all cases where MTP was conducted of a rape/sexual assault survivor, the foetus should be preserved properly so that it may be sent in future for DNA analysis or other forensic purposes.
The High Court framed these guidelines while dealing with the petition of a 17-year-old rape survivor, who was taken to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) for medical examination and MTP.
The hospital first refused to conduct her ultrasound because she was not carrying any identity card, even though the police were accompanying her. When the ultrasound was performed after a delay of 13 days, she was found to be over 25 weeks pregnant. She was not examined by the medical board because a doctor said that a court order would be required since the pregnancy had exceeded the statutory limit.
After the Court passed the verdict, a medical board examined her and found that she was only 24 weeks pregnant and there was no need for a court order.
Noting that the conduct of AIIMS in this case was troubling, the High Court ordered its Registrar General to send a copy of the verdict to the Delhi High Court Legal Services Committee, the Delhi Police Commissioner, the Delhi government and the Central government to ensure that the guidelines were disseminated to and complied with by all stakeholders.
It further ordered the Registrar General to translate the verdict into Hindi through the concerned Committee of this Court, and get the same uploaded in the judgment section of the website.
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