India, April 30 -- The Supreme Court on Thursday declined to entertain a curative plea filed by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) seeking reconsideration of its April 24 order permitting termination of an over 28-week pregnancy of a 15-year-old Delhi girl, making it clear that neither the Centre nor medical institutions could assume the role of decision-makers in such cases.

Underlining that reproductive choice ultimately rests with the individual and not the state, a bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi said that this should not become a "fight between the state and its citizens," cautioning against framing the issue as a contest between "an unborn child and a child".

"W...