Delhi HC entitles child born out of rape to compensation

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday declared that a child born out of rape is entitled to separate compensation, other than any such relief provided to the mother.

The high court delivered the order in the case in which a man has been sent to jail for his entire natural life for raping his minor step-daughter.

The decision was taken after the HC observed that there are no provisions under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act or the Delhi government's victim compensation scheme for the child born out of rape.

The Delhi HC also reduced the compensation amount to the rape victim from Rs 15 lakh, awarded by a trail court, to Rs 7.5 lakh, saying that the higher amount was against the 2011 compensation scheme launched by the Delhi government.

The HC also condemned the trail court for not abiding by the guidelines for maintaining the confidentiality of the rape victim.

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The Delhi High Court bench, comprising Justice Gita Mittal and Justice RK Gauba, said a child born out of rape, either of a minor or an adult woman, is also a victim of the act of the offender and is entitled to compensation separate from the amount of compensation paid to his/her mother.

The court noticed the loophole in the law while hearing the appeal of a man, who was sentenced to jail till natural death for raping his minor step-daughter. As a result of his inhuman crime, the girl gave birth to a child at the tender age of 14 years.

Considering the heinousness of the crime committed by the man, who broke the trust of his wife and step-daughter to satisfy his sheer lust, the court refused to provide him any respite and upheld the sentence.