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Court pointed out that in the present case also, both mother and the fetus, were in good health conditions.
The Gujarat High Court on Thursday orally observed that earlier it was normal for 14-15-year-old girls to get married and become a mother before they turn 17.
While dealing with a plea moved by the father of a minor rape survivor, who was 7 months pregnant, to terminate the pregnancy, the single judge bench of Justice Samir J Dave said that it was very difficult for the court to consider the such a request as both the fetus and the mother were in good health conditions.
If there were any serious ailment to any of the two, that would have been a different case, said the court while stressing that a court cannot permit a 7 month baby in the womb.
To this, the counsel for the petitioner Advocate Sikander Saiyed said that the tender age of the minor which is 16 years 11 months is the main concern.
However, Justice Dave refuted the contention and said,
"You are saying so because it is 21st century. Ask you mother or grandmother. Earlier, the maximum age to get married was 15-16 for a girl and before their 17th year, they used to give birth to at least one child. Read Manusmriti."
To this, Advocate Saiyed also agreed that in Muslim Law as well the appropriate age of marriage for a girl is 13 years.
Apart from that, the court added that the fetus is already 7 months old. "These days, even a premature baby of 6 month can survive, if put in an incubator," said the court.
Therefore, taking note of the submissions made by the petitioner's counsel regarding the affect of such teenage and traumatic pregnancy on the minor and her mental health, Court ordered for a medical examination including Ossification test and a test by a Psychiatrist of the minor on urgent basis and sought the medical opinion of the Medical Superintendent, Civil Hospital, Rajkot on the feasibility of the termination of the minor's pregnancy.
Case Title: xxx v State of Gujarat
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