LEGAL STATUS OF AN UNBORN, DEAD PERSONS AND ANIMALS- (Article)

INTRODUCTION

Status refers to the position of a person in a particular setting. Legal status refers to a position held by a person or a thing with regards to the law. A legal status of a person or a thing defines its scope of power, obligations, authority and also imposes certain restrictions. For example, citizenship is a status of a person that defines his duties and rights in a country. These rules and regulations as imposed by the law not only apply to living human beings or creatures who can speak but also on dead, unborn, and animals. According to the law, there exist 2 types of legal entities that are human and non-human. Human entities will include living human beings where else non-human entities include various organizations and companies although according to the Indian legal system laws apply to both human and non-human entities. The law of status deals with such entities that are not a part of any of the 2 above stated legal entities but still, the society has to exercise certain duties towards them. These entities include an unborn child, dead, and animals. 

 

LEGAL STATUS OF AN UNBORN

The concept of legal personality revolves around a natural person that is humans. A person acquires his legal personality on his birth and the same goes away after his death. This gives him certain rights and duties. This means that there are no rights and obligations before birth and after the death of a person. However various crimes are committed against an unborn but since it lacks any legal personality, no actions are taken for such crimes.

A child in a mother’s womb also has certain rights. He can claim his rights in the property but this is however contingent until he is born as there may be chances of the baby being never born [1]. A man can either transfer his property in the name of his unborn child and if he dies then the child can claim his rights in the property after being born. The transfer of property act states that property can be transferred to an unborn for the benefit of his interest [2].as per the maxim Nasciturus pro jam natohabetur a child in the womb of a mother is already regarded as a person. Thus exception to the rule of natural person is that of an en ventresa mere (a child in mother’s womb).

According to section 315 of the Indian penal code if a person causes any injury to a child who is yet to be born and such injury prevents the birth of the child than such a person would be charged for the offense of child destruction.[3]Section 416 of code of criminal procedure states that if a pregnant woman is given capital punishment then this should either be postponed or converted to imprisonment for life as the court states fit. As under the law of tort, a child in the womb of the mother is said to be a person as was held on the case Montreal Tramways v. Leville[4].hence it can be concluded that an unborn person also has a legal personality for fulfilling certain purposes.

 

LEGAL STATUS OF DEAD

Actiopersonalismoritur cum persona­– action dies with the death of the man

A dead person is no longer a person in the eyes of law as his legal personality existed only when he was alive and after death, they are destitute of all rights and liabilities. Although 3 things continue to exist even after the death of a person. These are –his body, reputation, and estate.

• Body – a corpse is not a property of any person. the corpse of a person has to be properly buried and this is secured by the criminal law and violation of a grave of any person is considered to be an offense as per the criminal law [5].even in the Muslim as well as in English law handling the corpse of a person with disrespect is regarded as a crime.
• Reputation- the law also gives protection to the reputation of a dead man and any act which causes injury to the reputation of the person or cause any hurt to the feelings of his family or relatives, such as a libel, is regarded as a crime of defamation as per the Indian penal code, the descendants of the dead person can file a suit of defamation for recovery of losses.
• Estate- a man even if the dead can determine as to who will get the rights on the property he owned when he was alive. This can be done by the way of making a will. After his death, His property will then get distributed as per the will made by him when he was alive. In the case of William Vs. William [6]it was held that before this a person could not make a will for the parts of his body. But this case held that the body of a person is a property of no one and a person can decide to donate his organs to any other medical institute of a person after his death.

 

LEGAL STATUS OF ANIMALS

In the present day, animals are not treated as living creatures but rather as merely things.  

Animals also have 2 rights- 

- Any kind of cruelty to any animal is treated as an offense.

- A trust for the benefit of particular classes of animals, as opposed to one for individual animals, is valid and enforceable as a public and charitable trust.

the act of subjecting animals to unnecessary pain of suffering through tortures, beats, kicks, overrides, overloads are punishable under the prevention of cruelty to animals act 1960[7]. Sections 3 and 11 of this act are read with article 15A (G)(H) of the constitution which is also called the Magna Carta of animal rights.

There are 5 freedoms granted to the animals as per the Universal Declaration of Animal Welfare (UDAW) is a campaign led by World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA)

1. Freedom from thirst and hunger
2. Freedom from fear
3. Freedom from any kind of discomfort
4. Freedom from any injury or disease 
5. Freedom to expresses normally

All animals and their species have a right to live a life with honour and dignity and this has to be protected by the law from unlawful attacks

CONCLUSION 

The right of life granted by article 21 of the constitution is for animals as well as human beings and also includes things that affect the lives of humans. Dead man also has various rights even after their death such as the right to be buried with respect and to be protected against any kind of libel and the law also recognizes the wish of the dead regarding the distribution of his estate. Certain rights are also available to the child in the womb of a mother such as the right to property and various other rights to protect it from any kind of injury in the womb of the mother.

 

FOOTNOTES

 [1] Hindu succession act 1956, section 20

[2]  Transfer of property act 1882,Section 13,14 and 18

[3] PROF. NOMITA AGGARWAL, JURISPRUDENCE 177-178 (9th ed. 2012).

[4] Montreal Tramways v. Leville, ( 1933) 4 DLR 337.

[5] Indian Penal Code 1860, section 297

[6] William Vs. William (1882) 20 Ch.D. 659.

[7] Prevention of Cruelty to Animal Act, 1960, No. 59, Acts of Parliament, 1992 (India) § 11.1. a.

 

 -Akanksha Mishra

Maharaja Agrasen Institute of Management Studies.