Dr, Shiv Kumar Prasad @ Dr. Shiv Kumar vs State Of Bihar And Anr on 19 June, 2023

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Patna High Court - Orders

Dr, Shiv Kumar Prasad @ Dr. Shiv Kumar vs State Of Bihar And Anr on 19 June, 2023

This application has been filed for quashing the order dated 18.06.2015 passed by learned ACJM, Hilsa, Nalanda in connection with Hilsa P.S. Case No. 123 of 2013 / G.R. No. 386 of 2013 registered for the offence under Sections 341, 323, 306 and 328 of the Indian Penal Code as well as for quashing the entire prosecution of the petitioner in connection with Hilsa P.S. Case No. 123 of 2013.

Prosecution story in short is that while son of the informant went to attend the nature's call, the accused persons namely Arbind Kumar, Raju Prasad, Sanjay Prasad and Harnandan Prasad had assaulted him and forcibly administered Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.42865 of 2015(3) dt.19-06-2023 2/9 poison to him. Thereafter, the informant's son was taken to the hospital of the petitioner where he was treated by the petitioner but the son of the informant could not be saved and he ultimately died during the course of treatment. The allegation against the petitioner, who is the treating doctor of the deceased is that in spite of repeated requests by the informant, he did not refer the informant's son to Patna for better treatment due to which the son of the informant died.

It has been submitted by the learned counsel for the petitioner that the entire allegation against the petitioner in the complaint petition/FIR is false and fabricated.

The petitioner has relied upon the judgment of Jacob Mathew Vs. State of Punjab (Supra) and has contended that if any case is filed against the doctor/medical practitioner for medical negligence then before registering the case, the Police is duty bound to do the investigation in proper manner and is not supposed to issue summons/warrants to the doctor till the completion of the investigation or come to the conclusion that there was negligence on the part of the medical practitioner.

He also submits that as per the case of Jacob Mathew Vs. State of Punjab (Supra) the investigating agency i.e. the police should take opinion from a Doctor or Board Of Doctors Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.42865 of 2015(3) dt.19-06-2023 3/9 related from the same field.

Learned counsel for the petitioner has also relied upon the case of Martin F. D'Souza Vs. Mohd. Ishfaq (Supra) to submit that before proceeding against the petitioner the police ought to have got a report from an expert committee and then only the petitioner can be prosecuted for medical negligence but in the present case the same has not been done and therefore the entire prosecution of the petitioner is bad in law and the same is fit to be quashed.

Learned APP for the State very fairly submits that the investigation has not been done in accordance with law laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Jacob Mathew Vs. State of Punjab (Supra) and in the case of Martin F. D'Souza Vs. Mohd. Ishfaq (Supra).

The Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Jacob Mathew Vs. State of Punjab (Supra) has held in Paragraphs 48, 49, 50, 51, 52 as follows:-

48. We sum up our conclusions as under:-

(1) Negligence is the breach of a duty caused by omission to do something which a reasonable man guided by those considerations which ordinarily regulate the conduct of human affairs would do, or doing something which a prudent and reasonable man would not do. The definition of negligence as given in Law of Torts, Ratanlal & Dhirajlal (edited by Justice G.P. Singh), referred to hereinabove, holds good. Negligence becomes actionable on account of Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.42865 of 2015(3) dt.19-06-2023 4/9 injury resulting from the act or omission amounting to negligence attributable to the person sued. The essential components of negligence are three: 'duty', 'breach' and 'resulting damage'.

(2) Negligence in the context of medical profession necessarily calls for a treatment with a difference. To infer rashness or negligence on the part of a professional, in particular a doctor, additional considerations apply. A case of occupational negligence is different from one of professional negligence. A simple lack of care, an error of judgment or an accident, is not proof of negligence on the part of a medical professional. So long as a doctor follows a practice acceptable to the medical profession of that day, he cannot be held liable for negligence merely because a better alternative course or method of treatment was also available or simply because a more skilled doctor would not have chosen to follow or resort to that practice or procedure which the accused followed. When it comes to the failure of taking precautions what has to be seen is whether those precautions were taken which the ordinary experience of men has found to be sufficient; a failure to use special or extraordinary precautions which might have prevented the particular happening cannot be the standard for judging the alleged negligence. So also, the standard of care, while assessing the practice as adopted, is judged in the light of knowledge available at the time of the incident, and not at the date of trial. Similarly, when the charge of negligence arises out of failure to use some particular equipment, the charge would fail if the equipment was not generally available at that particular time (that is, the time of the incident) at which it is suggested it should have been used.

(3) A professional may be held liable for negligence on one of the two findings: either he was not possessed of the requisite skill which he professed to have possessed, or, he did not exercise, with reasonable competence in the given case, the skill which he did possess. The standard to be applied for judging, whether the person charged has been negligent or not, would be that of an ordinary competent person exercising ordinary skill in that profession. It is not possible for every professional to possess the highest level of expertise or skills in that branch which he practices. A highly skilled professional may be possessed of better Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.42865 of 2015(3) dt.19-06-2023 5/9 qualities, but that cannot be made the basis or the yardstick for judging the performance of the professional proceeded against on indictment of negligence.

(4) The test for determining medical negligence as laid down in Bolam's case [1957] 1 W.L.R. 582, 586 holds good in its applicability in India.

(5) The jurisprudential concept of negligence differs in civil and criminal law. What may be negligence in civil law may not necessarily be negligence in criminal law. For negligence to amount to an offence, the element of mens rea must be shown to exist. For an act to amount to criminal negligence, the degree of negligence should be much higher i.e. gross or of a very high degree. Negligence which is neither gross nor of a higher degree may provide a ground for action in civil law but cannot form the basis for prosecution.

(6) The word 'gross' has not been used in Section 304A of IPC, yet it is settled that in criminal law negligence or recklessness, to be so held, must be of such a high degree as to be 'gross'. The expression 'rash or negligent act' as occurring in Section 304A of the IPC has to be read as qualified by the word 'grossly'.

(7) To prosecute a medical professional for negligence under criminal law it must be shown that the accused did something or failed to do something which in the given facts and circumstances no medical professional in his ordinary senses and prudence would have done or failed to do. The hazard taken by the accused doctor should be of such a nature that the injury which resulted was most likely imminent.

(8) Res ipsa loquitur is only a rule of evidence and operates in the domain of civil law specially in cases of torts and helps in determining the onus of proof in actions relating to negligence. It cannot be pressed in service for determining per se the liability for negligence within the domain of criminal law. Res ipsa loquitur has, if at all, a limited application in trial on a charge of criminal negligence.

49. In view of the principles laid down hereinabove and the preceding discussion, we agree with the principles of law laid down in Dr. Suresh Gupta's case (2004) 6 SCC 422 and re-affirm the same. Ex abundanti cautela, we clarify that Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.42865 of 2015(3) dt.19-06-2023 6/9 what we are affirming are the legal principles laid down and the law as stated in Dr. Suresh Gupta's case. We may not be understood as having expressed any opinion on the question whether on the facts of that case the accused could or could not have been held guilty of criminal negligence as that question is not before us. We also approve of the passage from Errors, Medicine and the Law by Alan Merry and Alexander McCall Smith which has been cited with approval in Dr. Suresh Gupta's case (noted vide para 27 of the report).

Guidelines Re: prosecuting medical professionals

50. As we have noticed hereinabove that the cases of doctors (surgeons and physicians) being subjected to criminal prosecution are on an increase. Sometimes such prosecutions are filed by private complainants and sometimes by police on an FIR being lodged and cognizance taken. The investigating officer and the private complainant cannot always be supposed to have knowledge of medical science so as to determine whether the act of the accused medical professional amounts to rash or negligent act within the domain of criminal law under Section 304-A of IPC. The criminal process once initiated subjects the medical professional to serious embarrassment and sometimes harassment. He has to seek bail to escape arrest, which may or may not be granted to him. At the end he may be exonerated by acquittal or discharge but the loss which he has suffered in his reputation cannot be compensated by any standards.

51. We may not be understood as holding that doctors can never be prosecuted for an offence of which rashness or negligence is an essential ingredient. All that we are doing is to emphasize the need for care and caution in the interest of society; for, the service which the medical profession renders to human beings is probably the noblest of all, and hence there is a need for protecting doctors from frivolous or unjust prosecutions. Many a complainant prefers recourse to criminal process as a tool for pressurizing the medical professional for extracting uncalled for or unjust compensation. Such malicious proceedings have to be guarded against.

52. Statutory Rules or Executive Instructions incorporating certain guidelines need to be framed and issued by the Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.42865 of 2015(3) dt.19-06-2023 7/9 Government of India and/or the State Governments in consultation with the Medical Council of India. So long as it is not done, we propose to lay down certain guidelines for the future which should govern the prosecution of doctors for offences of which criminal rashness or criminal negligence is an ingredient. A private complaint may not be entertained unless the complainant has produced prima facie evidence before the Court in the form of a credible opinion given by another competent doctor to support the charge of rashness or negligence on the part of the accused doctor. 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's test to the facts collected in the investigation. A doctor accused of rashness or negligence, may not be arrested in a routine manner (simply because a charge has been levelled against him). Unless his arrest is necessary for furthering the investigation or for collecting evidence or unless the investigation officer feels satisfied that the doctor proceeded against would not make himself available to face the prosecution unless arrested, the arrest may be withheld.

The Hon'ble Supreme Court has also held in the case of Martin F. D'Souza Vs. Mohd. Ishfaq (Supra) with regard to expert opinion has held in Paragraph 117 of the judgment as follows:-

117. We, therefore, direct that whenever a complaint is received against a doctor or hospital by the Consumer Fora (whether District, State or National) or by the Criminal Court then before issuing notice to the doctor or hospital against whom the complaint was made the Consumer Forum or Criminal Court should first refer the matter to a competent doctor or committee of doctors, specialized in the field relating to which the medical negligence is attributed, and only after that doctor or committee reports that there is a prima facie case of Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.42865 of 2015(3) dt.19-06-2023 8/9 medical negligence should notice be then issued to the concerned doctor/hospital. This is necessary to avoid harassment to doctors who may not be ultimately found to be negligent. We further warn the police officials not to arrest or harass doctors unless the facts clearly come within the parameters laid down in Jacob Mathew's case (supra), otherwise the policemen will themselves have to face legal action.

Learned counsel for the O.P. No. 02 opposed the application of the petitioner by contending that in spite of repeated requests made by the informant, the petitioner has not referred the son of the informant to Patna for better treatment and as a result of which his son died during the course of treatment.

I have heard the submissions of the parties. From reading the judgment of the Hon'ble SC in the case of Jacob Mathew Vs. State of Punjab (Supra) it was incumbent for the police to take an expert opinion from the doctors before registering the FIR against the petitioner and any FIR registered against the direction of the Hon'ble Supreme Court is bad in law.

Moreover, it is not the case of the prosecution that the petitioner is not a qualified doctor or he had committed any negligence in treating the informant's son and when the son of the informant was taken to the hospital, he was duly attended by the petitioner.

Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.42865 of 2015(3) dt.19-06-2023 9/9 In view of the above observations of the Hon'ble Supreme Court and also considering the facts of the case as stated above, I am of the view that the prosecution against the petitioner cannot continue as the prosecution of the petitioner is nothing but the abuse of process of the Court and therefore, this application is allowed.

Accordingly, the order dated 18.06.2015 passed by learned ACJM, Hilsa, Nalanda in connection with Hilsa P.S. Case No. 123 of 2013 / G.R. No. 386 of 2013 registered for the offence under Sections 341, 323, 306 and 328 of the Indian Penal Code and the entire prosecution of the petitioner in connection with Hilsa P.S. Case No. 123 of 2013 is hereby quashed.

(Sandeep Kumar, J) Vikas/-

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Patna High Court - Orders