INFANTICIDE

In the partial fulfilment of marking scheme of

B.A LL.B. (8th Semester)

SUBMITTED BY-: SUBMITTED TO-:

VISHAL SINGH GHANGAS DR. VIKAS NANDAL

B.A LL.B 8TH SEMESTER ( ASSISTANT PROFESSOR)

20570

GEETA INSTITUTE OF LAW

SESSION- 2024-2025
 INFANTICIDE

VISHAL SINGH GHANGAS

B.A LL.B 8TH SEMESTER

20570

ABSTRACT-:

Infanticide is one of the important part of study not only in the history but also for the
study of the human rights, abortion laws and article-21- Right to life and the personal liberty of
the Indian Constitution. As we know infanticide is the one of the most heinous crime of the
human history. Almost every year in India, an estimate of 500,000 girls are died to the reason of
the infanticide in India. Some of the cases are even reported to the United Nation Human Right
Council (UNHRC), the report makes a continent-wise analysis of the infanticide patterns. It sets
the tone of stating that 117 million girls demographically go “missing” due to the sex-selective
abortions or killed after the birth within the 1 year, as claimed by the United Nations population
Fund.

KEYWORDS-: INDIA, INFANTICIDE, UNHRC UNPF.

INTRODUCTION-:

As per the general terms, the infanticide can be defined as the killing a unborn baby or a born
baby within the 12 months of his/her birth by his parents or other family member is known as the
infanticide, whereas neonaticide is used to refer to killing of the child within 24 hours of his/her
birth by his parents. Non-human primates have been observed to kill their offspring, and the act
of infanticide in human culture date back before historical records were kept. In the past, in some
culture, it was not necessarily a crime; a father's right to murder his children was recognized in
Roman law under patria potestas, and infanticide was not uncommon in China up to the
nineteenth century. Infanticide in Britain in early times was largely a matter for the church but
became better recognized as a crime in the Middle Ages. Infanticide is the most heinous crime in
the history of human race many child are being killed by their parents, family members or by
others due to various reasons that can be anything culture or sex-determination etc. infanticide
becoming a global issue as per the United Nation Human Right Commission and UNHRC is
taking the actions for the improvement and application of the laws against the infanticide in
various countries which are the members of it. Infanticide is usually indirect, in that children are
abandoned rather than being actively put to death (but see Boswell 1988, who argues that
abandoned children were often raised by a third party, if only to be sold as slaves). In addition,
some children die from other forms of extreme neglect verging on infanticide (e.g., by being left
at a foundling hospital, by being accidentally smothered while sleeping in the bed with adults, or
by being inadequately fed by a wet nurse). In many pre-modern societies, infanticide appears to
have been common and demographically important. Survivors of attempted infanticide figure
prominently in Western literature (Moses, Oedipus). Reports for European cities in the
eighteenth century suggest that a quarter of all children were abandoned to foundling hospitals,
where the probability of surviving to adulthood appears to have been well below a third.

OBJECTIVE-:

1. To know why and which gender is targeted in infanticide?

2. What are the laws in India to stop Infanticide?
3. Why are the stats of the Infanticide is increasing?

METHODOLOGY-:

For the present study, I have used Secondary data which is taken from the various books, United
Nation Charter, articles, newspaper, Internet etc.

Infanticide in Ancient Times-:

As in the Ancient times, the stats of the Infanticide are quite low because there are no such laws
are made to stop the infanticide and many cases are even not to be represented before the law by
the society, many such brutal cases are still hidden in the society where many child are killed
under the age of 1 year. In India, female child is killed more than the male child, female child is
killed within the womb of the mother or after taking the birth or within the 1 year of the birth of
her. In Polynesia, where populations often reached high density, similar practices prevailed.
Children also have been allowed to die or have been killed with cultural sanction because of
irregular mating (such as incest or conception out of wedlock), or abnormal births, or for similar
reasons. In many advanced societies, children have been killed in the belief that it would ensure
health, good fortune, and general fertility. Religious offerings, especially of the firstborn, are
known from the Bible, as well as from the histories of Egypt, Greece, and Rome. Firstborn
sacrifice was once common among many peoples in India; here the motive was the offering of
one’s most precious possession to the deities. In modern societies the regulation of population
with contraceptives or through abortion has tended to greatly reduce the frequency of infanticide.

These are the various societies where the infanticide is taking place since the ancient times due to
various reasons and some of the societies are still following the practices of infanticide even after
the criminalization of the Infanticide.

Female Infanticide in India -:

Female infanticide is the intentional killing of baby girls due to the preference for male babies
and from the low value associated with the birth of females.’ These practices arise in areas where
cultural norms value male children over female children. increasing female infanticide and
fetocide in India could spark a demographic crisis where fewer women in society will result in a
rise in sexual violence and child abuse as well as wife-sharing, the United Nations warned. This
in turn will deteriorate the social value system and can cause crisis situation. Female infanticide
is of the major issue is arising day by day against the India. India is the 7th largest country in the
terms of land whereas India owns the second position in the terms of the population, whereas the
male population is increasing day by day and the population of female is decreasing with a rapid
speedy which is subject of tension and danger to the India.

Girl children in India often face various challenged from their childhood to their adulthood. On
every step, girls face more rejection, discrimination, and fear than boys. This might not be
evidently visible, but it is true. Sex ratio in India is rapidly decreasing. This is mostly to do with
what is the ‘value’ of a girl child in India. There is a strong preference for male children than
female children. India is the dangerous for the girls where the cases of the kidnapping, rape and
murder of girl children or adult is increasing with a rapid growth and which is sort of tension for
the parents of the girls.

India as a society is insecure for the girls there are much of the illiterate peoples are in the
villages and cities which only things that women is the property of the male. Girls are not safe
and girls from poverty-stricken families are even more vulnerable. They are often subjected to
different kinds of harm, neglect, and violence in the form of abuse, harassment, domestic
violence, rape, etc. Most Indians have stereotyped opinions about girls. They are socialized to
believe that girl’s will eventually get married and go to another household and serve them.
Therefore, girls are often considered a financial burden. Educating them is not deemed necessary
and their opinions don’t matter. This is one of the major reasons for preferring a son over
daughter.

Female Foeticide/Infanticide:

The term female foeticide means killing the female foetus in the mother’s womb. It is the result
of an unholy alliance between the traditional preference for sons and modem medical technology
coupled with other factors like the increasing greed of doctors, the rising demand for dowry that
makes daughter a financial burden, the ineffective implementation of the Pre-conception and
Prenatal Diagnostic Act and the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, and most
important of all, the lack of serious involvement of civil society in fighting the menace.

Criminalization of Infanticide In India-:

In India, Infanticide is criminalized by the British government under the Indian Penal Code
which is now replaced by the new law Bhartiya Nyay Sanhita Act.

Section 315

Section 315 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, relates to Act done with the intent to prevent child
being born alive or to cause it to die after birth. It is the only provision in the Indian Penal Code
that mentions infanticide as an offence, that is, killing of a child who is of 0 to 2 years of age.
According to this section, an act done by a person with the intention of preventing a child from
being alive when he/she is born or causing it die after he/she was born alive, causes the child to
die before or after birth, will be punished for a term of imprisonment extending to ten years, or
will be charged with fine, or both. Such act, when committed, does not include an act done to
save the life of a pregnant woman, that is an act done in good faith.

Section 318

Section 318 of the Indian Penal Code relates to Concealment of birth by secret disposal of dead
body. Under this Section, if a person, after the birth of a child, secretly buries or otherwise
disposes off the dead body of the child to intentionally conceal the birth of the child, will be
punishable with a term extendable to two years of imprisonment, or charged with fine, or both.

This section intends to prevent the infanticide. It is directed towards a person who disposing of
the body of the child upon his/her birth. The properties of this section are-:

1. Secret burying or in any way disposing of the dead body of an infant

2. The fact whether the child dies before, during or after the birth is not required.

3. The person disposing the body of a child should have an intention to conceal the birth of
that child.

Section 302

In India, the offence of infanticide or the killing of an infant is charged as murder and is
therefore equivalent to conviction under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code.
Section 302 relates to punishment for death'. It states that if a person commits murder, he/she can
be punished with a sentence of death, imprisonment for life and will be liable for fine.
In S.K. Harison v State of Delhi the father of the infant was convicted under Section 302 of the
Indian Penal Code for the murder of his four month old infant.

These are the various section of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) which describes the definition,
punishment and penalty for doing infanticide in India.

GOVERNMENT STEPS TOWARDS TO STOP INFANTICIDE IN INDIA -:

The government is started to take actions to stop the female infanticide in India, India is
suffering from the less sex-ratio due to the Infanticide and abortion in India on the ground of the
sex-determination. It is in this direction that many laws, Acts and schemes have been initiated,
such as the following areas :

 The Laws favouring Girl Education

 The Laws favouring Women's right

 The Laws favouring Equal Property Share for a daughter

 Other schemes for girl child

These are some policies which are implemented in India to increase the sex- ratio and stop the
infanticides in the territory of India.

CONCLUSION

Through this study we can conclude that infanticide is one of the heinous crimes ehich are
ever reported in the human history in which either parents or family member or in the name of
culture or tradition killing an unborn or born children within the period of 1 year of his/her birth.
Infanticide is increased specially on the female gender based which is decreasing the sex ratio
and putting effect on the marriages. As per the article 21 of the fundamental rights under the
constitution of India which grants the right to life and personal liberty and the infanticide is
crime which is not only against any individuality it is against the whole society and we have to
take some hard steps to stop the infanticide and same girls for such heinous crime and make sure
that every children as the right to life.

References-:

1. Josephine Billingham, Infanticide in Tudor and Stuart England, (2019).

2. Brigitte Bechtold, Donna Cooper, Killing Infants: Studies in the World Practice of
Infanticide, (2006).
3. Bare Act, Indian Penal Code, (1860)
4. Rashmi, Renu, Reena Dube, Female Infanticide In India: A feminist Cultural History,
(2012).
5. R. Muthulakshmi, Female Infanticide, its Causes and Solutions, (1997).