1. The prayer made in this writ petition is to issue a mandamus, directing the second respondent to medically terminate the unwanted pregnancy of the petitioner - minor girl aged about 17 years, at the earliest.

2. The case of the petitioner is that as her parents are working, she left alone in the home. Taking advantage of the situation, one Vicky @ Vignesh sexually exploited her, due to which, she became pregnant. According to the petitioner, a case in Crime No.1062 of 2018 was registered against the said Vicky @ Vignesh for the offences punishable under Sections 5(i)(ii) and 6 of the Protection of Child from Sexual Offences Act and the same is pending investigation. Since she is not prepared to give birth to a child and also wants to pursue her studies, she along with her parent approached the second respondent for terminating the pregnancy. But the second respondent refused to do so, as the petitioner is a minor girl. Hence, this writ petition.

3. Heard both sides and perused the records.

4. Before going into the issue involved herein, it is but necessary to refer to Section 3 of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971, which reads as follows :

“3. When Pregnancies