New Delhi, Oct. 30 -- The Supreme Court on Thursday urged an estranged couple to give their six-month-old marriage another chance before it decides whether to allow the wife's plea to terminate her 25-week pregnancy, cautioning that an irreversible decision taken amid marital discord could leave both with a lifetime of regret if they reconcile later. A bench of justices BV Nagarathna, R Mahadevan and DK Upadhyaya asked the husband to reach out to his wife, who is staying with her parents after alleging mental harassment, and give her the confidence and security needed to carry the pregnancy to term. The court, however, made clear that the decision on termination remained before it, and asked the couple to discuss their differences and report back on Monday. "What concerns us is that she should not regret," the bench told the woman's counsel, stressing that the consequences of terminating a pregnancy could extend well beyond the immediate period. "It is an irreversible situation if there is a regret after terminating the pregnancy. That trauma can go well beyond nine months," it observed. The intervention came after the Bombay high court on October 26 dismissed the woman's plea for termination, holding that her case did not fall within the categories permitted under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act and Rules. The high court noted that the couple remained married, the foetus showed no congenital anomalies and the allegations of force, continuous mental cruelty and harassment had not been established to allow the termination as per the MTP laws. The woman, in her mid-30s and in her first pregnancy, told the Supreme Court that she had left the matrimonial home after being mentally harassed and tortured. Her counsel also relied on a medical board's report that recorded her fragile psychological state and warned that her mental agony could worsen if the pregnancy continued. The medical board, constituted by Grant Government Medical College and Sir JJ Group of Hospitals in Mumbai, had opined that the pregnancy could be terminated, noting that the woman was 24 weeks pregnant when examined on October 22 and that the foetus had no congenital anomalies. It also warned that the delivered baby might require neonatal intensive care and that the prognosis might not remain good despite such care. The bench, however, sought to look beyond the medical and legal questions to the possibility of the couple repairing their relationship. It noted that the husband had expressed his willingness to resume cohabitation and take responsibility for both his wife and the child....