The Delhi High Court on Tuesday asserted that a child born out of rape is entitled to compensation which will be independent of any compensation granted to the mother.
The high court had earlier lowered the amount of compensation granted to the rape victim from Rs 15 lakh awarded by the trial court to Rs 7.5 lakh. The top court had said that the higher amount was against the 2011 compensation scheme formulated by the Delhi government.
The court gave the ruling during a hearing of a man who was awarded life imprisonment for raping his minor step-daughter. His daughter eventually got pregnant and gave birth at the age of 14.
Asserting that there was scope for “pity” for the accused in this particular case, the court said that the man had violated the trust and the confidence showed by his daughter out of pure lust due to which he will have to be imprisoned for life.
Meanwhile, the health Ministry had recently said that they have recommended recognising “failure of contraceptive” and “unplanned pregnancy” as a legit reason to opt for abortion.
Recently, in a progressive move, the Bombay high court amended the 45 year old provision and extended the choice of willful abortion to couples in live-in relationships.
The court has extended the provision to couples in pre-marital relationships, in which they live like a husband and wife while choosing not to tie the knot. Until now, the provision permitted married women to terminate the pregnancy within 20 weeks, in which they conceived despite using contraceptives.
