Gujarat High Court’s decision is reversed by the Supreme Court, which permits abortion

A disgruntled Supreme Court lashes out at the Gujarat High Court, declaring that any court delivering an order that goes against a higher court’s decision is unconstitutional. After the Gujarat High Court issued a judgment on Saturday that was initially scheduled by the SC for Monday, the Supreme Court made some strongly worded observations. The ruling referred to a petition that a rape victim filed asking for authorization to terminate her pregnancy. The Supreme Court permitted an abortion even though it denied the petitioner any remedy.

What’s going on in the Gujarat High Court? In India, no court has the authority to overturn a ruling made by a higher court. After being notified of the ruling by the High Court on Saturday, the Supreme Court bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan said, “It is against constitutional doctrine.

“The earlier order included a clerical mistake, which was corrected on Saturday. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said that the Saturday order was only granted to correct a “clerical error,” adding that there had been a misunderstanding. He said, speaking for the Gujarat administration, “We as the state government will request the judge to recall the order.”

The Supreme Court criticized the High Court’s callous approach toward the issue, stating “valuable time” had been spent, and the bench of Justices Nagarathna and Bhuyan agreed to hear the case today, August 21. In order to get their comments on the survivor’s request, the Supreme Court sent notices on the Gujarat government and other parties.

The 25-year-old’s counsel informed the Supreme Court that on August 8, the High Court ordered the creation of a medical board to investigate the petitioner’s pregnancy and general health. On August 10, following a comprehensive examination of the rape victim, a medical report was subsequently presented. However, the petitioner’s attorney said that the results completely eliminated any possibility of the pregnancy being ended.

The High Court had accepted the report on record on August 11, but it had been “strangely” listed for 12 days after that, according to the Supreme Court, which “lost sight of the fact that every day’s delay was crucial and of great significance having regard to the facts and circumstances of the case.”

“In these circumstances, there must be, if not excessive haste, but at least a feeling of urgency in such issues and not a lax attitude of treating it like any other routine case and just adjourning it. We regret having to express and comment on this,” the bench remarked. It further said that the petitioner’s counsel had told authorities that the petition had been dismissed by the High Court on August 17 but that the decision had not yet been put on their website.

The petitioner will soon be in her 28th week of pregnancy, therefore the attorney emphasized the need of completing a new medical report. The petitioner was then ordered by the court to make another appearance before the medical board.

In the wake of this, the Supreme Court approved abortion on Monday. The hospital is required to provide all facilities, including incubation, in the event that the foetus is discovered to be alive after the medical operation to be performed. The Supreme Court ruled that the State must thereafter take action to guarantee that the kid is adopted in conformity with the law.