New Delhi Dec 22 PTI The Delhi High Court Wednesday asked the AIIMS to constitute a medical board to examine a woman who seeks to terminate her 27-week pregnancy saying the foetus suffers from abnormalities and that the chances of its survival are remoteTerminating a pregnancy beyond 24 weeks is illegal in the country barring some exception Justice Rekha Palli asked All India Institute of Medical Sciences AIIMS to set up the board at the earliest to examine the woman and give a report on the feasibility of terminating the pregnancyThe court listed the matter for further hearing on December 27In her petition filed through advocates Sneha Mukherjee and Surabhi Shukla the 33-year-old woman sought the courts permission end her pregnancy under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy MTP ActThe plea said that the doctors have explained to the woman that the condition of foetus is critical and that the chances of survival of the baby are less than 50 per cent and it could even collapse immediately after birth due to heart malfunctionBy enforcing the MTP Act without an exception for the health and welfare of the pregnant mother the respondents authorities have failed to protect the right to life by leaving desperate women carrying severe fetal abnormalities no choice but to seek unsafe abortions which contributes significantly to Indias poor maternal mortality rate the plea saidIt said the woman has suffered immense mental and physical anguish as a result of the unreasonable 24-week restriction under the MTP ActIn September this year the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Amendment Act 2021 which provides for enhancing the upper gestation limit from 20 to 24 weeks for special categories of women including survivors of rape victim of incest and other vulnerable women like differently-abled and minors was enforcedThe MTP Amendment Act also allows for termination in the case of fetal abnormalities beyond 24 weeks gestation Section 2B of the Amendment Act introduces medical boards to be notified in each state that shall assess cases of MTP for fetal abnormality post 24 weeks gestation PTI SKV SKV TIR TIR

New Delhi Oct 24 PTI The Delhi High Court has directed the All India Institute of Medical Sciences AIIMS to pay over Rs 50 lakh to a former employee who was illegally terminated from service noting that the man has been running from pillar to post for the last several yearsRaj Singh who was appointed as a driver by AIIMS sometime in the 1980s will also be paid Rs 19900 as pension every monthAccording to the petitioner he was illegally terminated after which he approached the labour court The labour court in December 1998 held that the termination of service was an unfair labour practice Singh said in his petitionThe labour courts order was challenged before various forums and finally the Special Leave Petition SLP filed by AIIMS was dismissed by the Supreme Court on June 3 2016Petitioner Singh represented through advocate B T Kaul served a legal notice to authorities seeking compliance of the award and payment of the amount but it was not paidThereafter he approached the high courtJustice Prathiba M Singh directed that the man be paid Rs 5049079 towards salary for the period from December 4 1998 which is the date of award and the date of superannuation which is October 31 2016 his leave encashment and his gratuityIt was directed that Rs 19900 be paid to him as monthly pensionThis amount was calculated by the authorities and the court was informed about it However the basis for the computation has still not been explainedHowever considering that the petitioner Singh has been running from pillar to post since 2016 when the Supreme Court dismissed the SLP till date the respondents authorities are directed to pay the amounts in terms of order dated March 9 2021 on or before October 30 2021 to the petitioner workman the high court said in its October 12 orderThe court was also told by advocate Sonali Malhotra representing AIIMS officials that the workman was also required to deposit Rs 30000 as a lifetime validation amount for being enrolled under the Employees Health SchemeTo this the court said that in view of the long duration for which Singh has been fighting the present litigation the amount of Rs 30000 shall now be deposited on his behalf by AIIMS itself in lieu of costs for the long-drawn litigationIt said all the amounts due and payable shall be released by October 30 and a compliance affidavit giving the details of the computation and the manner in which it has been done as also confirming the payment shall be filed on or before November 15The court asked the petitioners counsel to give details of the workmans bank accounts to the counsel for AIIMS for remitting the payment PTI SKV SKV ANB ANB