The Allahabad High Court has ruled that an unborn child beyond five months of gestation must be treated as a “person” in the eyes of law, and its death in an accident entitles the family to separate compensation. The court delivered the decision while allowing an appeal against a Railway Claims Tribunal order that had denied compensation for the foetus.
The judgment was delivered by Justice Prashant Kumar of the Lucknow bench in a case arising from a fatal railway accident at Barabanki station in 2018. The court held that the loss of an unborn child at an advanced stage of pregnancy cannot be ignored and must be treated on par with the death of a child for compensation purposes.
The case relates to an incident on September 2, 2018, when Bhanmati, who was eight to nine months pregnant, fell while attempting to board a train at Barabanki railway station. She suffered severe injuries and later died during treatment. The unborn child also did not survive.
The Railway Claims Tribunal had awarded compensation of ₹8 lakh for the woman’s death under provisions dealing with untoward railway incidents. However, it refused to grant any compensation for the unborn child, holding that the foetus could not be treated as a separate entity.
Aggrieved by this, the victim’s family approached the High Court.
Allowing the appeal, the High Court held that a foetus which has crossed a certain stage of development attains the status of an independent life. The court observed that the death of such a foetus cannot be disregarded in law.
It further ruled that the death of the unborn child should be treated at par with the death of a child for the purpose of awarding compensation.
The court also clarified that under the Railways Act, authorities are liable to compensate victims of accidents, and this liability extends to all lives lost in such incidents, including that of an unborn child.
Modifying the tribunal’s order, the High Court directed that separate compensation be awarded for the death of the foetus in addition to the compensation already granted for the woman’s death.
The ruling marks a significant recognition of the legal status of an unborn child in compensation claims arising from accidents.
