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Foetus above five months a ‘person’, eligible for separate compensation: HC
The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court held that a foetus constitutes an independent life. It observed that if a foetus dies due to an accident, it must be treated on par with the death of a child.
The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court has held that a foetus aged over five months will be treated as a “person” in the eyes of law, and its death will warrant separate compensation.
The court clarified that the death of a foetus must be viewed as the loss of an independent life.
The order was passed by a single-judge bench of Justice Prashant Kumar while hearing a first appeal filed by Sukhnandan against a February 18, 2025 order of the Railway Claims Tribunal, Lucknow.
On September 2, 2018, a woman, Bhanmati, fell while boarding a train at Barabanki railway station. She later succumbed to her injuries during treatment. At the time, she was eight to nine months pregnant. The foetus also died in the accident.
The Railway Claims Tribunal had awarded ₹8 lakh compensation for the woman’s death but did not grant any compensation for the foetus. The family challenged this decision before the high court.
Referring to various high court rulings and legal principles, the high court held that a foetus constitutes an independent life. It observed that if a foetus dies due to an accident, it must be treated on par with the death of a child.
The court further noted that under the Railways Act, the Railways is liable to compensate victims in cases of untoward incidents. Modifying the tribunal’s order, the court directed that an additional ₹8 lakh be paid as compensation for the death of the foetus, taking the total compensation to ₹16 lakh, with the same rate of interest as previously awarded.
