Mumbai: The father of a 27-year-old woman suffering from borderline intellectual disability informed the Bombay High Court on Monday that they are exploring the possibility of her marriage with the man who impregnated her.

The father had filed a petition in the High Court seeking permission to medically terminate her 21-week pregnancy on the grounds that his daughter is mentally unsound, unmarried, and incapable of raising a child.

However, the woman expressed her desire to continue the pregnancy. She subsequently disclosed the identity of the man she was in a relationship with, who is also the father of her child, and expressed her wish to marry him.

Following the High Court’s suggestion, the father met the man and informed the court that “there are positive indications of marriage” and sought to withdraw the petition, which was allowed by the court. Last week, the court had posed the question of whether a woman with below-average intelligence has no right to be a mother.

On Monday, the father’s’ advocate informed a bench of Justices Ravindra Ghuge and Rajesh Patil that the parents were in talks with the man regarding marriage. “There are positive indications of marriage,” the advocate said while seeking permission to withdraw the petition.

However, Additional Government Pleader Prachi Tatke argued that such a petition should not have been filed and urged the court to set a precedent. The bench, however, empathized with the father . “Old parents are impatient. They don’t want a burden at an old age,” the judges observed.

“Petitioner father says that positive developments have taken place. There is a possibility that the woman and the man may marry. He therefore seeks to withdraw this petition. The petition is disposed of,” the court noted in its order.

Last week, the court had questioned whether a woman with below-average intelligence has no right to be a mother. Following the father’s plea, the woman was examined by a medical board at JJ Hospital, which reported that she was not mentally ill but diagnosed with “borderline intellectual disability” with an IQ of 75.

The report stated that both the woman and the fetus were medically fit and that there were no congenital anomalies. The board concluded that while medical termination of pregnancy (MTP) was possible, it was not mandatory.

When the woman expressed her desire to continue the pregnancy, the father’s advocate informed the court that she had disclosed the identity of the man she was in a relationship with. The court then asked the father to meet the man and ascertain his willingness to marry her.