NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court turned down on Tuesday a plea of a 35-year-old destitute HIV positive woman, facing complications in her 26-week pregnancy arising from a sexual assault, to abort as medical report prepared by AIIMS doctors said her life might be in danger if medical termination of foetus was done at such an advance stage.

A bench of Justices Dipak Misra, A M Khanwilkar and M M Shantanagoudar, however, directed Bihar government to provide all medical facilities to her at Patna and also ordered the state to grant compensation of Rs 3 lakh to her under its scheme for rape survivors. It asked the Centre to make all arrangements to shift her to Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Science at Patna where she would be treated.

Noting that crucial time was wasted as the woman had to fight a legal battle to seek permission to abort the fetus, it decided to frame guidelines for government authorities and courts to take a quick decision on such pleas.The court rapped the state government for opposing her plea in the Patna HC which refused to allow her to abort and it was too late by the time she approached the apex court.

The bench said there was a fault on the part of the state government and Patna Medical College and Hospital and it was because of them that she was denied her right to undergo abortion. It agreed to hear plea to direct the state to award her compensation for negligence on its part and the hospital which insisted her to get approval of her father. The court took a strong view against the state government for opposing her plea for abortion in HC.

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