Lucknow: The Allahabad High Court on Friday ruled that an unborn child of more than five months’ gestation will be considered a “person” in the eyes of law, making its death in an accident eligible for separate compensation.
The judgment was delivered by Justice Prashant Kumar of the Lucknow bench while hearing an appeal against an earlier order of the Railway Claims Tribunal.
The tribunal awarded compensation only for the death of a pregnant woman but denied relief for the unborn child. The family subsequently challenged this decision before the High Court.
The court noted that the earlier ruling failed to recognise the foetus as a separate legal entity for compensation purposes.
Foetus beyond 5 months a ‘person’
The case relates to an incident on September 2, 2018, at Barabanki railway station. A woman named Bhanmati, who was eight to nine months pregnant, fell while attempting to board a train.
She sustained serious injuries and later died during treatment. The unborn child also did not survive.
The tribunal had awarded Rs 8 lakh as compensation for the woman’s death under provisions dealing with untoward railway incidents.
Allowing the appeal, the court held that a foetus beyond a certain stage of development attains the status of an independent life and cannot be ignored.
The bench observed that the loss of such a foetus must be treated on par with the death of a child when determining compensation.
The court further clarified that under the Railways Act, authorities are liable to compensate victims of accidents and this responsibility extends to all lives lost, including that of an unborn child.
It directed that separate compensation be awarded for the death of the foetus.