A couple has been sentenced to three years in prison for abandoning their newborn daughter and failing to prevent her death. The incident occurred five years ago in the Mehsana District. The parents, who did not wish to raise the child, left the newborn to die. The mother had ingested five abortion pills in an attempt to terminate the pregnancy.
A Mehsana sessions court presided over by Prakashji Thakor and his wife Chetna, found them guilty of child abandonment, culpable homicide not amounting to murder and abetment. However, the court showed leniency and refrained from imposing the maximum sentence of 10 years, taking into account that the couple has two other children to care for.
As per the prosecution’s case, a newborn girl was discovered abandoned near a public toilet in the station area of Ambaliyasan town on February 21, 2020.
The baby was alive when found and was immediately taken to the hospital, where she passed away four days later while receiving treatment. The police registered an FIR at Langhnaj police station under Sections 317, 304 and 114 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for abandoning the child and causing her death.
During the trial, the prosecution assessed 20 witnesses and presented 40 documents to prove the couple’s offence. The parents attempted to justify their actions, claiming that it was a miscarriage and the child was stillborn, which is why they abandoned her.
Following the trial, principal district judge, J R Shah, referenced the testimony of a private doctor whom the couple had been consulting, pointing out that there was reason to believe the woman did not want to have a female child, as she had taken five pills to terminate her pregnancy.
The court further stated, “If the girl was stillborn, any parent would first take her to a doctor for examination instead of going home by assuming that the child was stillborn. Even if it is assumed at one stage that the accused found the girl to be stillborn, they should have made proper arrangements for the disposal of the body instead of abandoning her at a location like a toilet, where she was found.”
“Considering the behaviour of the accused, it is indisputably proven that the girl was alive at birth. Despite knowing this fact, the accused did not want to keep the baby and abandoned the living child at a place like a toilet, intending to leave her behind,” the statement added.
