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.”
Court Ruling on Child Abandonment Case
A court has ruled that Reena and Jeetu Kumar are guilty of abandoning their newborn daughter, who was born prematurely on December 12, 2014, at Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital. The child was admitted to the NICU due to being underweight and suffering from medical complications.
The court’s decision was supported by a DNA report confirming that Reena and Jeetu were the biological parents of the deceased child. The court emphasized that the essence of the offence lies in the intent to abandon the child.
Despite the child being discharged from the NICU, the parents failed to care for her, even after multiple attempts to contact them. This neglect indicated their intention to abandon her. The court also noted that minor discrepancies in the child’s name and other details across various documents did not undermine the prosecution’s case.
