Lucknow, March 20 The Allahabad High Court ruled on Friday that a fetus over five months old would be considered a "person" under the law, and its death in an accident would entitle the family to separate compensation.
Justice Prashant Kumar of the court's Lucknow bench delivered the judgment while allowing a first appeal against an order of the Railway Claims Tribunal here that had awarded compensation only for the death of a pregnant woman and denied relief for a fetus.
The case pertains to a tragic incident on September 2, 2018, at the Barabanki railway station, where Bhanmati, who was eight to nine months pregnant, fell while attempting to board a train and sustained serious injuries. She later died during treatment, and the fetus also did not survive.
The tribunal had granted a compensation of Rs 8 lakh for the woman's death under provisions related to unfortunate railway incidents, but did not recognize the fetus as a separate entity for the relief. The victim's family subsequently approached the high court challenging the decision.
Allowing the appeal, the court held that a fetus beyond a certain stage of development acquires the status of an independent life, and that the loss of such a fetus cannot be ignored. It observed that the death of the unborn child must be treated on par with the death of a child for the purpose of compensation.
The court further clarified that under the Railways Act, authorities are liable to compensate victims of accidents, and that such liability extends to all lives lost in an incident, including that of a fetus. Accordingly, the court modified the tribunal's order and directed that separate compensation be awarded for the death of the fetus.