The case pertains to a woman who was married in 2018 and has a
child. In October 2022, she and her son were beaten mercilessly by her husband
under the influence of alcohol. She called up the accused, who she has been
friends with since 2016, and narrated the incident.
The accused asked her to move into his house along with her son.
He promised to marry her and had a physical relationship with her. Later, when
she found out that she was pregnant, the accused remained evasive till three
months of her pregnancy. When the petitioner again asked for marriage, he
threatened her with dire consequences.
The petitioner also asked her mother to mediate. When the victim’s
mother asked him, the accused flatly refused marriage, saying the child was not
his. On April 28, 2023, an FIR was registered against the accused.
The vacation bench of Justices Abhay Ahuja and Milind Sathaye
observed, “Forcing the petitioner to continue with the pregnancy would be a
serious affront to her fundamental right to exercise reproductive choices, to
her bodily integrity and her dignity.”
The woman’s lawyer informed the court that the
current pregnancy has not only brought grave mental anxiety to the petitioner,
but she may also not be able to take care of the child after it is born. The
petitioner does not wish to continue with the pregnancy and wants to terminate
the pregnancy.