India, Jan. 7 -- The Delhi High Court on Tuesday held that a woman's decision to terminate a pregnancy due to marital discord is valid under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act and does not amount to the offence of intentionally causing miscarriage.

A bench of justice Neena Bansal Krishna observed that mental trauma arising from marital discord can be significantly aggravated during pregnancy and may constitute a valid ground for termination if continuation of the pregnancy poses a risk to her physical or mental health.

To be sure, Section 3(2)(b)(i) of the MTP Act allows a woman to terminate a pregnancy of up to 20 weeks if its continuation poses a risk to her physical or mental health. Additionally, Section 3B also allows a...