The death of a 26-week premature baby after a dramatic birth in a hospital washroom has led to outrage and a human rights inquiry at a government-run psychiatric centre in Delhi.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), referring to the case as a matter of “serious violations of human rights” and systemic failure in maternal care, has taken suo motu cognisance of the matter and has sent two notices, including the last on October 14, seeking answers from the Delhi Government.
The victim, identified as Pooja, a 21-year-old destitute woman, was admitted to the Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences (IHBAS) on September 4, 2025, under court orders. At 26 weeks pregnant, she was under medical supervision for mental health issues, including medication with lorazepam. Tragically, on September 7, around 5:10 PM, Pooja went into labor — but not in a delivery room. With no maternity infrastructure available, she delivered her baby alone in the hospital’s washroom.
It has been reported that the employees of the hospital acknowledged that they had no basic maternity facilities — nevertheless, they allowed one pregnant woman in. They even had a critical delay before finding a clamp to cut the umbilical cord. The mother and the child were connected through the placenta for such a long time that they had to be taken by ambulance to Swami Dayanand Hospital. The baby, who was only 26 weeks old and had extremely underdeveloped lungs due to the very early stage of pregnancy, died at 9:12 PM that night.
The NHRC, in response to a news article that The Pioneer had published on September 10, sent a formal notice to Delhi’s Chief Secretary on September 18 and asked for a comprehensive report to be submitted in two weeks.
As there was still no reply, a second formal notice was dispatched on October 14. The Commission pointed out that even though medical complications could have been a factor, the “critical delay in providing care” and lack of emergency obstetric support were still serious forms of negligence.
Among the critics, women’s rights activist Sangeeta Gulati disapproved the IHBAS management — under the directorship of Rajinder K Dhamija — for taking in a high-risk pregnancy without having enough resources and protocols. Gulati stated, “This brings to the surface a serious infringement of the human rights of the patient,” pointing out the helplessness of the mentally ill and poor women who are kept in institutions.
Pooja is still receiving treatment at IHBAS, and the Delhi government has to justify how such a tragic incident, which could have been avoided, happened—besides that, they also have to state what actions will be carried out to make sure that it doesn’t happen again.
The NHRC’s investigation is widely regarded as having the potential to provide a standard for the accountability of maternal healthcare failures in public hospitals all over India.
