This article is written by Neeti Rana. Neeti is a student of Law College Dehradun, Uttaranchal University.

Rape causes difficulties during and after pregnancy, with potential negative consequences for both mother and child. In rape cases, there are two victims one the girl who was raped and second the child born from rape. The newly born child is a victim in the sense that he or she is forced to live a life of shame and stigma without his or her fault.

They are brought in this world destined to suffer because while the father refuses to lend his name to the child, the mother abandons the child for social reasons. Injury to reputation is a violation of the right to live with dignity. The child is termed as a second victim as he or she is the victim of circumstances.

Victim means a person who himself has suffered a loss or injury as a result of crime and requires rehabilitation, and includes his dependent family members. The child becomes the ‘second victim’ in it, as the mother refused to bring the child up in future. And the father refused to have the child. The child definitely suffers the injury of being left in this world to fend for him without any support.

Pregnancy from rape, children who escape death or abandonment are at risk of abuse and neglect. Because the identifies of their fathers are unknown or undocumented, they are referred to as “devils on horseback,” “children of bad memories”, and “the dust of life,” they may be denied the right of citizenship , cultural beliefs and customs surrounding rape may affects child health. Women who are victims of rape and forced pregnancy may not seek prenatal attention due to shame or fear of abandonment which may contribute to

Women who are victims of rape and forced pregnancy may not seek prenatal attention due to shame or fear of abandonment which may contribute to poor health status of the newborn. Children who are born with or develop physical characteristics of the rapists may be associated with the enemy and be particularly vulnerable to mistreatment.

The child born out of rape has the Right to Life with human dignity as he is the victim of the crime which he has not committed. The Right to Life has been explained in Francis Coralie V. Union Territory of India[1] that any act which damages or injuries or interferes with the use of any limb or faculty of a person either permanently or even temporarily, would be within the inhibition of Article 21.  In the same case, Hon’ble P.N. Bhagwati, J. Held as under: “we think that the right to life includes the right to live with human dignity and all that goes along with it, namely, the bare necessaries of life such as adequate nutrition, clothing and shelter and facilities for reading, writing and expressing oneself in diverse forms, freely moving about and mixing and commingling with fellow human beings.”

Allahabad High Court has in a Landmark Judgement ‘A’ through her Father ‘F’
V. State of U.P. Thru Prin. Secy., Med. & Health Ser. and others[2]  stated that a child born out of rape will have inheritance rights over the property of the biological father. The Court also discussed the need for rehabilitation of victims of rape and their children while adjudicating a matter where a minor child of 13 years was raped and could not abort her child due to medical reasons. The court said that child will be treated as an illegitimate child of rape accused and will have inheritance rights to his property unless legally adopted by someone.

Rape is a crime beyond the control of a victim. This tragedy can strike any family. It is not something for which the victim has to be blamed. The whole society will have to learn to manage their response towards a victim without forgetting that tragedy can befall on one’s own head. The whole society should come forward in defence and help the victim of rape. The manner of birth of a person is irrelevant, the rights of inheritance of a person are governed by a Personal Law to which the person is subjected is irrespective of the manner of birth of the person. It is irrelevant as to whether the newly-born child of a rape victim is born out of consensual sex or otherwise.

The victim of rape and the child should be accepted, and not haunted by the society. The society should show their positive response to both the victims.

[1] (1981) 1 SCC 608

[2] 8210 (M/B) of 2015 A.F.R.