Statutory limit on pregnancy termination barred interim relief where the petitioner was outside the prescribed category.

A writ challenge to the abortion rules could be examined, but interim relief could not extend beyond the statutory scheme until the rule was declared ultra vires. The rule allowing termination up to twenty-four weeks applied only to specified categories of women, and an unmarried woman with a consensual pregnancy did not fall within those categories. Because the pregnancy had crossed the ordinary statutory limit and the requested interim order would effectively grant the final relief sought, the Court declined to move beyond the statute. Interim permission for termination was therefore refused and the application dismissed.

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Issues: Whether interim permission could be granted to terminate a pregnancy beyond the statutory limit when the petitioner was not covered by the prescribed category under the relevant rules and the validity of that rule was under challenge.

Analysis: The pregnancy had crossed the period ordinarily governed by the statutory scheme, and the rule permitting termination up to twenty-four weeks applied only to specified categories of women. An unmarried woman with a consensual pregnancy did not fall within those categories. The challenge to the validity of the rule could be examined in the writ petition, but until the rule was declared ultra vires, the Court could not travel beyond the statute to grant interim relief that would effectively grant the final relief sought.

Conclusion: Interim permission for termination was declined, and the application was dismissed.

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