Doctors Not Discharging Duties Under MTP Act, Leaving Distressed Mothers To Approach Courts: J&K&L High Court

Justice Mohd Yousuf Wani observed that such women, already burdened by mental agony, are compelled to seek judicial intervention when medical practitioners fail to perform their statutory duties.

The Court made the observations while directing the Superintendent of Government Lalla Ded Hospital, Srinagar, to constitute a competent Medical Board for the immediate examination of a woman seeking termination of her pregnancy after serious foetal abnormalities were detected at nearly 32 weeks of gestation.

The Court directed the hospital to take immediate consequential action on the basis of the Medical Board's opinion regarding early termination of the pregnancy, in accordance with the applicable medical protocol.

Background

The Court was hearing a petition filed by a married couple seeking constitution of a Medical Board to examine the woman after serious foetal abnormalities were detected at an advanced stage of pregnancy.

According to the petition, ultrasound scans conducted on May 8 and July 26, 2026, when the pregnancy was at 12 weeks and six days and 21 weeks and four days, respectively, had not revealed any gross congenital anomaly.

However, an ultrasound conducted on September 24, 2026, at 31 weeks and six days of gestation revealed polyhydramnios, a large cystic structure in the foetal lumbar spine, mild ventriculomegaly and findings suggestive of Arnold-Chiari Type II malformation.

A foetal MRI conducted the following day confirmed a large posterior spinal defect with a cystic sac, consistent with open spinal dysraphism and a large myelomeningocele.

The petitioners submitted that subsequent medical consultations at Government Medical College, Anantnag, and Lalla Ded Hospital, Srinagar, corroborated the abnormalities. They contended that the delay in detecting the condition was not attributable to the woman, who had undergone regular antenatal care.

The couple approached the High Court seeking immediate constitution of a Medical Board to evaluate the foetal abnormalities and examine the feasibility of medical termination of the pregnancy.

Senior Additional Advocate General Mohsin S. Qadri, appearing for the respondents, submitted that the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971, and the Rules of 2003 provide a statutory mechanism for termination of pregnancy.

He submitted that the woman could be referred to Lalla Ded Hospital for examination by a competent Medical Board, which could take an appropriate decision in accordance with the Act, particularly Sections 3, 4 and 5.

Court's Observations

Examining the statutory framework, Justice Wani referred to Section 3(2-B) of the MTP Act, which provides that the ordinary gestational limits prescribed under Section 3(2) do not apply where termination is necessitated by the diagnosis of substantial foetal abnormalities by a Medical Board.

The Court also referred to Section 5(1), which provides an exception to the restrictions concerning gestational limits where a registered medical practitioner forms a good-faith opinion that termination is immediately necessary to save the pregnant woman's life.

Directing the constitution of a Medical Board, the Court ordered the Superintendent of Lalla Ded Hospital to ensure the woman's immediate examination and take consequential action on the basis of the Board's opinion regarding early termination through an approved and recognised medical procedure.

The Court further directed that if the baby were born alive and required neonatal intensive care, the necessary facility should be provided within the hospital. It also directed that the procedure, if advised by the Medical Board, be undertaken at the earliest in accordance with medical protocol and after completion of the requisite formalities, including consent.

Emphasising the statutory obligations of medical practitioners, the Court observed,

“Registered medical practitioners especially doctors working in the associated hospitals of medical colleges and in other district hospitals do not shoulder their statutory responsibilities in terms of the provisions of Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 and the rules of 2003 framed thereunder in justified cases thereby leaving the aggrieved mothers at the mercy of the God who, in search of some solace feel constrained to shoulder further mental agony and burden of approaching the courts of law for legal directions.”

The Court further observed that where statutory directions are clear, medical practitioners, particularly Medical Boards constituted under the MTP Act, should not unnecessarily avoid attending to emergent cases.

The writ petition was accordingly disposed of, with a direction that a copy of the order be forwarded forthwith to the Superintendent of Lalla Ded Hospital for compliance.