New Delhi, A Delhi court has convicted a couple for abandoning their premature and medically vulnerable infant in a hospital, saying that leaving an infant in a medical institution can constitute abandonment under IPC Section 317 if accompanied by an intention to wholly abandon the infant.
Additional Sessions Judge Sunil Kumar convicted Hareena Ray alias Reena and her husband Jeetu Kumar under Section 317 read with Section 34 of the IPC.
In an order dated September 10, the court said, “The circumstances proved on record, when appreciated cumulatively, establish the act of leaving the child was accompanied by the requisite intention of wholly abandoning her, which is the essential ingredient of Section 317 IPC.”
The court noted that the girl was born prematurely at Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital on December 12, 2014, and was admitted to the NICU as she was underweight and suffering from medical complications. The court relied, among other evidence, on the DNA report which established that Reena and Jeetu Kumar were the biological mother and father of the deceased child. Their failure to resume care even after the child was discharged from the NICU and repeated efforts were made to contact them indicated their intention to wholly abandon her. The court further held that minor discrepancies regarding the child’s name and other details in different documents did not affect the prosecution case.
“The essence of the offence is leaving/exposing the child with intention of wholly abandoning the child,” the court said. The court said that the child was medically vulnerable and the accused, being her parents, were under an obligation to care for her.
