Supreme Court Issues Notice on Medical Negligence Litigation
Background of the Case
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has recently issued a notice regarding a public interest litigation (PIL) that seeks the establishment of statutory rules or executive instructions for the criminal prosecution of doctors in cases of medical negligence. The order was passed on Monday by a bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta, following submissions from Senior Advocate Shadan Farasat, representing the petitioner.
Details of the Petition
The petition was filed by Sameeksha Foundation, which pointed out that despite the Supreme Court’s significant Jacob Mathew judgment on August 5, 2005, emphasizing the need for the Union and State governments to create statutory rules or executive instructions related to medical negligence, such regulations have yet to be implemented after nearly two decades.
Concerns Raised
The petition expressed frustration over the prolonged delay, labeling it as “disheartening and disappointing.” It noted that the nation has been waiting for over 20 years for mandatory rules that remain unframed and unnotified since the Jacob Mathew judgment. The petition also criticized the current inquiry system, alleging bias due to the predominance of doctors on committees assessing medical negligence allegations.
The PIL stated, “In the absence of Statutory Rules or Executive Instructions as mandated by the Jacob Mathew judgment and with the prevailing system of Inquiry Committees largely consisting of doctors, many medical inquiry reports lack impartiality.” Furthermore, it highlighted that numerous innocent individuals suffer “torturous, agonising, miserable, ignoble, and often butchering deaths in hospitals” due to gross medical negligence.
Impact on Patients and Families
The petition emphasized the helplessness of families of victims, noting that “there remains hardly any hope of justice for the victims of gross medical negligence when ‘doctors judge doctors,’ inherently favoring their fraternity.” An RTI response from the National Medical Commission (NMC) confirmed that “no such guidelines have been framed,” indicating that the process is still ongoing.
Moreover, the petition referenced the 73rd Parliamentary Standing Committee Report (2013), which indicated that medical professionals investigating negligence cases tend to be lenient towards their peers, leading to “almost negligible” prosecution rates. The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data revealed only “astonishing and unbelievable” 1,019 cases of death attributed to medical negligence over six years in a country with over 1.4 billion residents.
Call for Action
The PIL, filed by advocate Devansh Srivastava, urged the Supreme Court to take immediate action, asserting that “every human life is precious” and that preventable deaths in hospitals “cannot be dismissed as mere disciplinary issues.” It requested the Court to issue time-bound directives to ensure the swift establishment and notification of mandatory rules as outlined in the Jacob Mathew judgment. The petition also called for the formation of multi-stakeholder inquiry panels that would include retired judges, civil society members, patient representatives, NHRC nominees, and independent experts, rather than solely doctor-led committees.
Additionally, it advocated for accountability mechanisms to ensure that cases of gross medical negligence resulting in death are investigated fairly and prosecuted effectively. The petition argued that such reforms are vital to uphold Article 21 of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to life, inherently including the right to a fair and unbiased investigation into deaths caused by criminal medical negligence.
Supreme Court’s Earlier Directions
It has been over 17 years since the Supreme Court first directed the Centre, in the Jacob Mathew case in 2005, to develop statutory rules in consultation with the Medical Council of India (MCI) to address medical negligence cases, impacting both doctors and patients. The Court had also established temporary guidelines, stipulating that an independent and competent medical opinion should be sought before proceeding against a doctor accused of negligent acts.
However, the absence of statutory rules has left investigating officers uncertain about whom to consult regarding State Medical Councils. The MCI had proposed the formation of medical boards with specialists in respective fields on October 31, 2017. Following the MCI’s dissolution and the establishment of the NMC, a letter was sent to the Union Health Ministry on September 29, 2021, suggesting the creation, member terms, and functioning of such medical boards at both district and state levels.
In 2023, the Union Ministry acknowledged an RTI query that highlighted the ongoing consideration of the healthcare sector’s long-standing request to formulate guidelines for determining medical negligence cases.