Mumbai:
The Bombay Excessive Court docket on Wednesday questioned whether or not a girl with mental incapacity has no proper to turn out to be a mom.
A division bench of Justices R V Ghuge and Rajesh Patil was listening to a petition filed by a 27-year-old lady’s father, in search of permission for medical termination of her 21-week being pregnant on the bottom that she was of a mentally unsound thoughts and single.
The person in his plea submitted that his daughter needed to proceed the being pregnant.
The bench had final week directed that the lady be examined by a medical board on the state-run JJ Hospital in Mumbai.
As per the report submitted by the medical board on Wednesday, the lady isn’t mentally unsound or in poor health however was recognized with borderline mental incapacity with an IQ of 75 per cent.
The bench famous that the lady’s mother and father had not made her undergo any psychological counselling or remedy, however solely stored her on remedy since 2011.
The medical board’s report stated there have been no abnormalities or anomalies within the foetus and the lady was medically match for continuation of the being pregnant.
The report, nonetheless, additionally stated that termination of the being pregnant might be finished.
Extra authorities pleader Prachi Tatke submitted to the court docket that consent of the pregnant lady is of paramount significance in such issues.
The bench took word of the truth that the medical board report has clearly said the lady isn’t mentally disabled or of an unsound thoughts.
“The remark (within the report) is that she has below-average intelligence. No one will be tremendous clever. We’re all human beings and everyone has totally different ranges of intelligence,” the court docket stated.
“Simply because she has below-average intelligence, does she don’t have any proper to be a mom? If we are saying that individuals with beneath common intelligence wouldn’t have the precise to be mother and father, it will be towards the legislation,” the HC stated.
As per provisions of the Medical Termination of Being pregnant Act, a being pregnant past the 20-week gestation interval is allowed in circumstances the place the lady is mentally in poor health, it stated.
“Borderline case can’t be stated to be a psychological dysfunction. She (the pregnant lady within the current case) has not been declared as mentally in poor health. It’s only a borderline case of mental functioning,” the bench stated.
The advocate of the petitioner knowledgeable the HC that the lady has now disclosed to her mother and father the identification of the person with whom she is in a relationship and who was chargeable for the being pregnant.
The court docket then requested the lady’s mother and father to fulfill the person and work together with him to see if he was prepared to marry her.
“As mother and father, take the initiative and speak to the person. They’re each adults. It isn’t an offence,” the court docket stated.
The mother and father adopted the lady when she was five-month-old toddler, and should now do their obligation as mother and father, it stated.
The court docket posted the matter for additional listening to on January 13.
(Apart from the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is printed from a syndicated feed.)