The Supreme Court on Friday rejected a petition seeking permission for a 10-year-old to end her 27-week pregnancy. The girl got pregnant after her uncle raped her multiple times. The court made its decision after a medical panel said that an abortion would pose a risk to the girl’s life.

The bench, comprising Chief Justice JS Khehar and Justice DY Chandrachud, had asked a board of doctors at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research in Chandigarh had examined the 10-year-old on Wednesday.

On July 18, a Chandigarh district court had refused to allow the 10-year-old girl abort her six-month-old foetus on the grounds that it would put her health and life at risk.

Indian law allows abortion of foetuses up to 20 weeks old, but courts can make exceptions in case abnormalities are detected.