Infanticide and Foeticide
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Direct answer
Killing a newborn is charged in India as murder — there is no separate infanticide statute as in England's Infanticide Act 1938 — while foeticide means destroying a foetus in utero after it could have been born alive, covered by the successor to IPC section 315 in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023 and, when sex-selective, by the PC PNDT Act 1994. Before any such charge stands, the examiner must prove three things in sequence: that the child was mature (potentially viable), that it was born alive, and that death was caused by a criminal act after birth. Live birth is tested by the hydrostatic lung test, the stomach-bowel test and lung microscopy, always interpreted after excluding putrefaction and resuscitation artefacts; maceration proves death in utero and negatives infanticide.
What you must remember
- Legal architecture: infanticide is prosecuted as murder (IPC 302, now BNS 103); concealment of birth is separately punishable (IPC 318, renumbered in BNS); foeticide after viability falls under IPC 315, and sex-selective elimination under PC PNDT.
- Maturity markers at autopsy: crown-heel length about 45-50 cm and weight around 2.5 kg suggest term; the lower end of the femur ossification centre appears at roughly 36 weeks (the Béclard-referenced classic); Haase's rule estimates intrauterine age from length.
- Live birth tests: docimasia hydrostatic — lungs and pieces float if aired; stomach-bowel test — air in the gastrointestinal tract alongside food implies swallowing and breathing; microscopy shows expanded alveoli and thin septa in a breathed lung.
- False positives and negatives: putrefaction gas floats a never-breathed lung, resuscitation may aerate a lung without survival, and a lung that "sank in parts" needs histology — quote the limitations, not just the test.
- Maceration: skin slipping, skin discolouration and collapse of the cranial vault with overlapping bones indicate death in utero of several days, ruling out live birth.
- Cause of death in neonaticide: suffocation, strangulation with the cord, drowning, head injury or abandonment — placental examination, cord length, and whether the cord was cut or torn distinguish delivery management from homicide.
- PC PNDT core: determination and communication of sex before or after any antenatal test is prohibited (sections 4 to 6), with registration of genetic clinics, written consent of the woman, and imprisonment penalties — up to three years for a first offence, commonly quoted.
- Separate birth: a child "born alive" means complete expulsion or extraction with breathing or signs of life, irrespective of the cord or placenta.
Examining an abandoned newborn found in a drain
The body of a term-appearing infant is brought in a plastic bag. The examination sequence decides everything. First, maturity: crown-heel length, weight, femoral ossification centre — a 48 cm, 2.8 kg baby with a distinct lower femoral centre is potentially viable. Second, live birth: before opening, putrefaction is assessed; with a fresh body, the hydrostatic test is performed — both lungs float entire, the stomach-bowel loop floats with air, and histology shows distended alveoli, together supporting breathing after birth. Third, cause of death: conjunctival petechiae and congestion with no external injury, plus frothy mucoid airway fluid, suggest suffocation; a torn, unligated cord with a flaccid placenta suggests unskilled solitary delivery — relevant to intent and concealment under the BNS successor to IPC 318. Fourth, maternity: DNA from the tissue fixes the mother once a suspect is tested. The board reports "death of a viable live-born infant by asphyxia; death homicidal," leaving the court the question of who and why — usually concealment of illegitimacy or poverty, the classical Indian settings.
Where students slip
The hydrostatic test is treated as gospel by candidates; examiners reward the candidate who volunteers that decomposition, attempted resuscitation and intrauterine gas formation each corrupt it, which is why it is corroborated by microscopy and the gastrointestinal test. The second error is confusing stillbirth certification with infanticide investigation: a macerated stillborn needs registration, not a murder inquest. Third, the PC PNDT dimension is forgotten — a foeticide after an illegal sex determination implicates the ultrasound practitioner under both statutes. Finally, the "separate existence" phrase: until the child is fully outside the mother, injuring it is foeticide or abortion law, not murder.
Frequently asked questions
How is live birth proved at autopsy?
By the hydrostatic lung test corroborated by the stomach-bowel test and lung histology showing expanded alveoli, interpreted after excluding putrefaction and resuscitation artefacts.
What finding proves that a foetus died in utero?
Maceration — skin slippage, discolouration and overlapping skull bones — indicates death inside the uterus several days before delivery, excluding infanticide.
Which ossification centre indicates maturity near term?
The centre for the lower end of the femur, appearing around 36 weeks of intrauterine life, is the classical maturity marker at autopsy.
Is there a separate offence of infanticide in Indian law?
No — the killing of a newborn is prosecuted as murder, though concealment of birth is a distinct minor offence; England, by contrast, has a dedicated Infanticide Act.
What does the PC PNDT Act prohibit?
It prohibits determination and disclosure of the sex of the foetus and regulates genetic clinics, ultrasound practice and written consent, to prevent sex-selective foeticide.