525 child rape victims faced pregnancy in 5 years, Allahabad High Court slams ‘systematic denial’ of abortion

5 min readNew DelhiJun 8, 2026 12:03 PM IST

Allahabad High Court flagged systematic denial of abortion to child rape survivors in UP. (Image generated using AI)

The Allahabad High Court recently expressed serious concern over what it described as a “systematic denial” of medical termination of pregnancy services and statutory protections to child rape victims in Uttar Pradesh.

Justice Vinod Diwakar was hearing a plea filed by the grandfather of a 17-year-old rape survivor with intellectual disabilities, seeking termination of her pregnancy. The court noted that despite the survivor expressing her unwillingness to continue the pregnancy and despite her family approaching authorities, no effective action was taken for 54 days, causing the pregnancy to advance and ultimately resulting in the birth of a child.

Justice Vinod Diwakar passed a slew of direction to the state.

Referring to affidavits filed by the director general of police, the court noted that 525 cases involving pregnancies in unmarried child rape victims had been reported across Uttar Pradesh in the last five years.

‘Institutional failure’

The court observed that after the FIR was registered in 2023, the victim was found to be nearly 23 weeks pregnant. The survivor’s grandfather approached the chief medical officer (CMO), seeking termination of the unwanted pregnancy of his granddaughter. The CMO did not entertain the request and she was eventually compelled to approach the High Court.

During the proceedings, the High Court expanded the scope of the case and sought extensive data from the state government, police authorities, child welfare bodies and medical authorities.

Based on the material placed before it, the court concluded that the statutory framework under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Juvenile Justice Act was not being effectively implemented across the state.

The court noted that data furnished by the state revealed only 106 cases of rape victims being produced before Medical Boards for termination-related assistance between 2013 and 2023, despite Uttar Pradesh having a population of about 24 crore.

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“For the entire State of Uttar Pradesh, with a population of approximately 24 crores, only 106 procedures were performed under the formal Medical Board framework over 11 years- fewer than 10 per year across 75 districts- a figure so starkly disproportionate to the documented scale of child sexual violence in the State,” the court observed.

The court highlighted that the zone-wise distribution of cases in which pregnancies were detected in unmarried child rape victims during the last five years disclosed a pattern of institutional failure that extends across both rural and urban areas of the state.

The court found that the Lucknow zone recorded the highest concentration of cases in the state, with 115 cases accounting for 21.9% of the state total.

The court found it alarming that Gorakhpur city, the largest city in eastern Uttar Pradesh, recorded zero cases despite having the highest CWC caseload in the entire state.

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The court remarked that the true number of unmarried child rape victims who became pregnant and received no meaningful institutional support, medical care, or legal redress was immeasurably greater than the number registered with the police.

To address the situation, the court issued a series of state-wide directions.

Directions to field officers

In all cases where a victim of rape or sexual assault is found to be pregnant, the victim shall, without loss of even a single day, be produced before the concerned CMO to assess victim’s physical and mental condition and to enable an informed decision regarding termination of pregnancy.

The CMO shall record, on the medical report itself, a certification that the medical board has duly counselled the victim and her parent(s) or guardian(s) regarding the provisions of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971, and the medical, legal, and psychological implications arising therefrom.

The principal secretary, medical health and family welfare, UP, shall ensure that every district in the state has a duly constituted and functional medical board in accordance with Section 3(2-B) and the related provisions of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971.

Directions for State

To undertake a comprehensive socio-psychological study, based upon an appropriate survey, concerning the number of rape cases; the number of children born as a consequence of rape; the number of abandoned children; the psychological condition and responses of victims; mechanisms required to address the trauma suffered by victims; the expectations of victims regarding rehabilitation.

The chief secretary, Uttar Pradesh, is to constitute an expert committee comprising academicians, research scholars, data scientists, policy experts, bureaucrats, and doctors.

To examine and evolve an institutional mechanism to fix accountability for failure to adhere to the statutory obligations under the POCSO Act, 2012, the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971, government notifications, and welfare schemes framed for victims and children.

State government is recommended to examine the need for a separate legal framework to protect the independent rights of a child born to an unmarried minor as a result of sexual assault.

While framing such a framework, the state government may, if it considers appropriate, take into account the findings and recommendations of the expert committee constituted under this order.

Ashish Shaji is a Senior Sub-Editor at The Indian Express, where he specializes in legal journalism. Combining a formal education in law with years of editorial experience, Ashish provides authoritative coverage and nuanced analysis of court developments and landmark judicial decisions for a national audience.

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