India, Feb. 3 -- The Bombay High Court on Friday permitted a 19-year-old woman, pregnant for the first time, to undergo a medical termination of pregnancy, citing mental distress and foetal anomalies.

A division bench of Justice Revati Mohite-Dere and Justice Dr Neela Gokhale, hearing the teenager's plea, noted that a medical board appointed by the court had recommended the termination. The board's report cited the woman's severe mental stress and significant foetal abnormalities as key factors in its decision.

The court had earlier directed the Grant Medical College and Sir JJ Group of Hospitals to constitute a medical board to evaluate the teenager, following her petition to terminate her 23-week pregnancy. She approached the court af...