Legal provisions regarding Death caused by act done with intent to cause miscarriage under section 314 of Indian Penal Code, 1860.
Death caused by act done with intent to cause miscarriage:
Section 314 of the Indian Penal Code provides that “Whoever, with intent to cause the miscarriage of a woman with child, does any act which causes the death of such woman, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine;
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ADVERTISEMENTS:
If act done without woman’s consent:-
And if the act is done without the consent of the woman, shall be punished either with imprisonment for life, or with the punishment above mentioned.
Explanation:
ADVERTISEMENTS:
It is not essential to this offence that the offender should know that the act is likely to cause death.”
Section 314 of the Code applies when miscarriage results in death. The act of the accused must have been done with intent to cause the miscarriage of a woman with child.
Causing the death of the woman, while causing miscarriage, is a further aggravated form of the offences described under Sections 312 and 313. As per Section 314 of the IPC, when an act is done with the intention of causing miscarriage, but which act results in death, then it is an offence liable for punishment up to 10 years.
As per this provision, it is sufficient if the intent is only to cause miscarriage and not death. In other words, intention to cause death is not an essential element of this crime. It is sufficient to show that an act which is carried out with intent to cause miscarriage resulted in the death of the woman.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
To bring home the offence under this section, a direct nexus between acts done by the accused and the death of the woman needs to be proved. The explanation to Section 314 provides that it is not even essential that the offender should know that the act is likely to cause death.
Under Section 314 if the miscarriage resulting in the death of the woman is done without her consent, then the punishment prescribed is harsher which can include life imprisonment.
In Maideen Sab v. State of Karnataka [(1993) Cr.LJ 1430 (Kar.)], the pregnant woman was admitted at the hospital-cum-house of the accused-doctor by her son-in-law. The doctor gave the medicine for abortion.
The woman fell unconscious and died. The deceased was buried as it was decomposed. The accused absconded from the city. He made extrajudicial confessions to three different persons to the effect that the death took place during abortion. Basing on circumstances established and proved the court punished him with five years R.l.
This offence is cognizable, non-bailable and non-compoundable and triable by the Court of Sessions.