The Supreme Court on Thursday declined to entertain a petition by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences against an order by a two-judge bench allowing the termination of a 30-week pregnancy of a minor girl, The Indian Express reported.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant said that it would “not allow the institution to choose for the parents” and noted that the girl was pregnant because she was raped. However, it allowed doctors from the institute to counsel the girl and her family so that they could make an informed choice, Live Law reported.

On April 24, a separate bench headed by Justice BV Nagarathna had allowed the pregnancy to be medically terminated, and had directed AIIMS to carry out the procedure. On Wednesday, the same bench dismissed a review petition filed by the institute on Wednesday, after which it moved a curative petition before another bench.

On Thursday, Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati told the bench headed by the chief justice that the foetus is now 30 weeks old and in four weeks, the newborn could be given for adoption, Live Law reported.

She argued that there was a high likelihood of the foetus being born alive and added that termination at this stage could cause irreversible harm to the minor.

Bhati also said that...

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