Bombay HC Permits Termination Beyond 26 Weeks After Medical Board Flags Tetralogy of Fallot in Fetus

A Division Bench of the Bombay High Court allowed a married woman at 26 weeks and 11 days to terminate her pregnancy after a multi-specialist Medical Board unanimously advised it, citing a serious congenital cardiac defect in the fetus and the petitioner's inability to afford post-natal cardiac care.

The Bombay High Court, on 22 June 2026, made absolute a writ petition filed by a married woman seeking termination of her pregnancy at 26 weeks and 11 days. The Division Bench of Justice Bharati Dangre and Justice Manjusha Deshpande acted on a report dated 18 June 2026 submitted by the Medical Board of District Hospital, Raigad-Alibag. Every specialist on the Board — including a Gynaecologist, Obstetrician, Physician, Radiologist, Paediatrician, Anaesthetist, Psychiatrist, and Psychologist — advised termination without qualification. The fetus was found to have a congenital cardiac defect consistent with Tetralogy of Fallot, a condition the Board said would require multiple cardiac surgeries after birth. The petitioner, who belongs to a weaker economic stratum, stated she could not afford that level of care.

What the Medical Board Found

The Medical Board's report was built on ultrasonography findings and clinical examination of the mother. The USG showed congenital heart disease and short long bones. The Radiologist's opinion specifically identified the short long bones and cardiac defect as favouring Tetralogy of Fallot.

The Board recorded that the fetus had a strong congenital heart disease requiring tertiary cardiac care at delivery. Even after birth, the newborn would need multiple cardiac surgeries to survive. Despite the severity of the fetal condition, the Board found the mother behaviourally stable with no psychiatric abnormalities detected.

All members of the Board, in unequivocal terms, advised termination of the pregnancy.

The Petitioner's Circumstances

The petitioner is a married woman who was at 26 weeks and 11 days of pregnancy at the time the court considered the Medical Board's report. She expressed a clear desire to terminate the pregnancy in light of the fetal condition.

She also placed before the court her financial position, stating that she belongs to a weaker stratum of society and that her family would not be able to afford the post-natal cardiac treatment the child would require. The court recorded both the medical prognosis and the petitioner's stated inability to bear the financial burden of multiple cardiac surgeries as part of its reasoning.

The Court's Reasoning

The Division Bench noted that the fetus suffers from anomalies and that the Medical Board's opinion made clear the child, if born, would require post-natal cardiac surgeries involving significant financial burden. The petitioner had categorically stated she belongs to a weaker stratum of society and that the family may not afford such treatment.

Taking the Medical Board's unanimous advice together with the petitioner's expressed desire and her economic circumstances, the Bench found it appropriate to accord approval for termination beyond 26 weeks. The court's approval was grounded in the Medical Board's report placed before it.

The Bench was also informed that the petitioner was already admitted in Civil Hospital, Raigad, and was under the care of doctors there.

Directions to the Hospital

Since the petitioner was already admitted in Civil Hospital, Raigad, the court directed the doctors there to proceed to carry out the procedure for terminating the pregnancy “at the earliest.”

No further procedural steps were imposed. The direction was immediate and addressed to the treating medical team already attending to the petitioner.

Outcome

Writ Petition No. 7618 of 2026 was made absolute on 22 June 2026. The High Court accorded approval for termination of the pregnancy beyond 26 weeks in light of the Medical Board's report. The doctors at Civil Hospital, Raigad, were directed to carry out the termination procedure at the earliest. Ms. Dhruti Kapadia appeared for the petitioner. Mrs. M.P. Thakur, AGP, appeared for the State of Maharashtra.