Kerala High Court orders payment of compensation by the Government to a woman over its botched sterilisation campaign

In a judgment rendered earlier this week, the Kerala High Court has ruled that the government should pay compensation for 'failed' sterilizations carried out as part of its free population control campaign. 

Kerala High Court at Ernakulam

A Division Bench comprising of Justice Thottathil B Radhakrishnan and Justice Babu Mathew P Joseph ordered a compensation of Rs 1,23,000 to be paid to a woman who gave birth after undergoing sterilization.

The Court said: "Though it would have been natural for economically and, therefore, socially marginalized couple, which led the plaintiff (woman) to offer herself for sterilization, it cannot be ignored that she was induced by the government propaganda. When one undergoes sterilization assuming that it is a foolproof method, the failure of the procedure--not amounting to medical negligence--would fall under the state's liability in the context of balancing the equations between fundamental duties, directive principles of state policy, and fundamental rights." 

The High Court was considering an appeal filed by the state government against the judgment passed by Sub-court, Irinjalakkuda  to pay Rs 74,800 as compensation to a 33-year-old woman who gave birth to her fourth child after sterilization. In May 2008, the one-and-half-year-old boy died due to cardiac problems. In her petition, the woman said her son's fate was due to the unwanted pregnancy.