Srinagar, Sept. 23 -- Srinagar- The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh has permitted the medical termination of the pregnancy of an 11-year-old girl who was allegedly sexually assaulted, holding that the statutory 24-week gestational limit could not override constitutional protection in the exceptional circumstances of the case.

Justice Wasim Sadiq Nargal passed the order on a petition filed on behalf of the minor through her father.

The court was informed that the pregnancy was assessed at around 22 weeks and five days when a Medical Board examined the girl on September 11. By the time the court delivered its judgment, the pregnancy had crossed the 24-week statutory limit.

Considering the girl's age, the circumstances in which...