Medical Negligence: MP High Court Quashes Prosecution Against Doctor Over Leg Amputation Citing Absence Of Expert Committee Report

Madhya Pradesh High Court has iterated that no prosecution can be launched against a doctor accused of medical negligence without the report of an expert committee as contemplated in Jacob Mathew v. State of Punjab & Anr. (2005).

The single-judge bench of Justice Gurpal Singh Ahluwalia noted that the complainant did not approach a committee of experts to prove the medical negligence of the doctor concerned.

“…Accordingly, prosecution of the applicant on account of medical negligence cannot be allowed to continue…Resultantly, charge sheet as well as further proceedings in RCT No. 86/2020 pending in the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Katni against the applicant are hereby set-aside…”, the court observed.

However, the bench sitting at Jabalpur granted the complainant liberty to approach an expert committee to establish medical negligence. If medical negligence is found to be committed by the doctor in the report, the complainant would be able to move forward with legal action, the court clarified.

The allegation against the doctor posted at Dharmlok Hospital, Katni, was that he wrongly injected the patient's right leg when the latter was under his care for stomach ache. When the right leg turned numb after injection, the patient was referred to various hospitals for further treatment on account of the alleged negligence of the applicant-doctor. Later, the patient's leg was amputated; an FIR was registered in Kotwali police station (Katni District) pursuant to the patient's complaint.

Before the High Court, F.I.R was challenged by the doctor on the solitary ground that the police did not obtain a satisfactory report from the expert committee in order to institute proceedings against him for medical negligence.

While quashing the F.I.R and chargesheet for the offence under Section 338 IPC, the single judge bench referred to a catena of decisions including the apex court's landmark ruling in Jacob Joseph. In this decision, the court mandated the complainant to produce prima facie evidence in the form of an expert report given by a competent doctor to support the charge of negligence on the part of the accused doctor. The apex court held that a private complaint can be entertained only after fulfilling the said criterion.

“…The investigating officer should, before proceeding against the doctor accused of rash or negligent act or omission, obtain an independent and competent medical opinion preferably from a doctor in government service qualified in that branch of medical practice who can normally be expected to give an impartial and unbiased opinion applying Bolam Test…”, the Supreme Court had enunciated in its order back then to prevent arrest of doctors in a routine manner merely based on the charge against them.

For Petitioner: Advocate Vaibhav Tiwari

For Respondents: Govt. Advocate Mohan Sausarkar

Case Title: Dr. Rajesh Batra v. State of Madhya Pradesh & Anr.

Case No: Misc. Criminal Case No. 8190 of 2020

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 50

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