Section 315 IPC Act to Prevent Child Being Born Alive or Cause Death After Birth

Section 315 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 dealt with an act done before the birth of a child with the intention of preventing the child from being born alive or causing the child to die after birth. This article explains the provision under the criminal law applicable immediately before the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 came into force.

Section 315 of the Indian Penal Code 1860

Meaning and essential ingredients of Section 315 IPC

For Section 315 to apply, the prosecution had to establish the act and the specific intention described by the provision. The section concerned conduct occurring before the birth of the child and required a causal connection between that conduct and the prohibited result.

1. An act before birth: the accused must have done an act before the birth of a child.
2. Specific intention: the act must have been done with the intention of preventing the child from being born alive or causing the child to die after birth.
3. Required consequence: the act must actually prevent the child from being born alive or cause the child to die after birth.
4. Good-faith exception: the penal provision does not apply where the act was caused in good faith for the purpose of saving the life of the mother.

Good faith for saving the life of the mother

Section 315 expressly excludes an act caused in good faith for the purpose of saving the life of the mother. The exception is part of the statutory provision itself. Whether it applies in a particular case depends on the facts and evidence, including the purpose and circumstances in which the act was done.

Punishment under Section 315 IPC

A person convicted under Section 315 could be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term extending to ten years, or with fine, or with both.

Nature of offence under the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973

A cognizable offence permitted a police officer to arrest without warrant in accordance with the CrPC. A non-bailable classification did not mean that bail could never be granted; it meant that bail was governed by the provisions applicable to non-bailable offences.

Section 315 compared with nearby IPC provisions

Sections 312 to 318 formed a connected group of IPC provisions dealing with miscarriage, unborn children, birth and abandonment. Section 312 IPC dealt with causing miscarriage; Section 313 IPC addressed miscarriage without the woman's consent; and Section 314 IPC dealt with the woman's death caused by an act done with intent to cause miscarriage.

Section 315 focused instead on an act before birth intended to prevent the child from being born alive or to cause death after birth, where the specified consequence followed. Section 316 IPC separately addressed causing the death of a quick unborn child by an act amounting to culpable homicide.

Key legal points

• The provision required intention, not merely an unintended adverse result.
• The relevant act had to occur before the child's birth.
• The intended statutory consequence had to result from the act.
• An act caused in good faith to save the mother's life was expressly excluded.
• The offence carried a maximum term of ten years and was cognizable, non-bailable and triable by the Court of Session under the pre-BNSS CrPC classification.

This article describes the statutory position under the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 immediately before the new criminal codes came into force. Application of a criminal provision to particular facts depends on the applicable law, dates, evidence and judicial interpretation.