“Undoubtedly the opinion given by the two doctors refers to a possibility of a substantial risk if the child is born, it would suffer from physical or mental abnormalities. However, the opinion itself discloses the necessary treatment which is required to be given,” the court observed.

Earlier, the petitioners’ lawyer, Jamshed Mistry, had submitted that changing the pacemaker every five years was not economically viable for the family. Also, life would be traumatic not only for the couple but also for the child, he had said. The court had then stated that the state government can help in case of financial difficulty.

The Mehtas learnt about the complete congenital heart blockage of the foetus after an echocardiogram test at Dr Dattar’s clinic in Mumbai’s Goregaon suburb two weeks ago when Niketa was in the 24th week of her pregnancy. Dattar consulted a reputed cardiologist as well as a pediatrician after the report was available. “She was in the 24th week of pregnancy and they knew it cannot be aborted legally as the cut-off date was over,” said their lawyer Jamshed Mistry. “They asked the doctor if the child can be aborted to which the doctor replied in the negative following which they moved court.”