JUDGMENT :

[Prathiba M. Singh, J.]

1. This hearing has been done through hybrid mode.

2. The present petition has been filed by the Petitioner who is the mother of an unmarried minor girl aged fourteen years. At the time of filing of the Petition, the girl was pregnant with a gestational period of fifteen weeks and four days. The minor girl is stated to be studying in the ninth standard, and her family belongs to the lower income group.

3. The petition was filed seeking permission of the Court to terminate pregnancy of the minor girl which was stated to be the result of an accidental consensual relationship. The matter was considered by the Court on 11th January, 2023 and Ms. Zubeda Begum, ld. Counsel, was appointed as Amicus Curiae to assist the Court. The Court had also directed the Petitioner and the minor girl to be present with her mother, to interact with them. On 12th January, 2023, the Court and the ld. Amicus interacted with the Petitioner and the minor girl in the presence of a doctor. Upon interacting, the Court was of the view that the conception was indeed a result of a consensual, one-off act and the interest of the minor girl would be best served by terminating the pregnancy. Therefore, vide order dated 12th January, 2023, the Court permitted the minor daughter of the Petitioner to undergo the procedure for medical termination of pregnancy at AIIMS, New Delhi. The relevant portion of the said order reads as under:

“14. Accordingly, at this stage, the following directions are issued:

i. The minor daughter of the Petitioner is permitted to undergo the procedure for medical termination of pregnancy at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences ("AIIMS"), New Delhi, under the supervision of a properly constituted medical team. The expenses towards the same shall be borne by the Respondent No.2 - Union of India. The doctor deputed at the Medical Centre of the Delhi High Court shall assist the minor and her mother in this process;

ii. In the course of performing the procedure for the termination of the pregnancy and thereafter, it shall be ensured that the foetus is duly preserved, in accordance with law, for the purposes of DNA sampling or evidence, as may be directed;

iii. The Respondent No.2 - Union of India is directed to make arrangements and to facilitate the termination of the pregnancy at AIIMS, New Delhi, which shall take place at the earliest, and, in any case, on or before 16th January, 2023, after complying with the prescribed procedures;

iv. The identity of the Petitioner, as also, her family shall not be disclosed in any of the hospital records by AIIMS, the medical team, the RMP or any of the concerned authorities;

v. The report in terms of Section 19(1) of the POCSO Act, shall also not disclose the identity of the minor and her family or any other details by which she can be identified;

vi. The report prepared in terms of Section 19(1) of the POCSO Act shall be maintained and placed before this Court in a sealed cover. The same shall await further orders of this Court. The said sealed cover shall be filed by Ms. Hetu Arora Sethi, Id. Counsel, at least three days before the next date of hearing;

vii. Status report as to the termination of the minor's pregnancy be also filed by the Respondent No.2 - Union of India by the next date of hearing;

4. Ld. Counsel for the Petitioner has informed the Court today that in terms of order dated 12th January, 2023, the procedure for termination of pregnancy is stated to have been undertaken at AIIMS, New Delhi on 20th January, 2023 and the minor girl has also been discharged.

5. A status report dated 20th January, 2023 issued by AIIMS, New Delhi has been filed on the record of the Court. The report states that in terms of the previous order dated 12th January, 2023, AIIMS had constituted a medical board consisting of -

- Two Professors from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, and Department of Radio-diagnosis.

- One Additional Professor from the Departme