⭕️ Chhattisgarh Breaking – Bilaspur Big News ⭕️
Bilaspur In a landmark judgment, the Chhattisgarh High Court has given a major reprieve to four doctors from Apollo Hospital, Bilaspur, by quashing the FIR and chargesheet filed against them in a seven-year-old case. The Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice B.D. Guru allowed the petition, ruling that the criminal case was not justified.
The FIR, lodged at Sarkanda Police Station, pertained to the death of a patient in December 2016, where the doctors were accused of negligence under IPC Section 304A (causing death by negligence) and Section 201 (causing disappearance of evidence).
According to the case details, a young man from Dayalband was admitted to Apollo Hospital on December 25, 2016, in a critical condition and passed away the next day due to multiple organ failure. A postmortem and subsequent chemical analysis of the viscera found no traces of poison or sulphas, ruling out any foul play.
Despite this, the patient’s family filed a complaint, leading to an FIR against Dr. Sunil Kumar Kedia, Dr. Devendra Singh, Dr. Rajeev Lochan Bhanja, and Dr. Manoj Kumar Rai. The doctors, represented by Senior Advocate Sunil Otwani, challenged the proceedings in the High Court.
🩺 Medical Board Gave Clean Chit
The defense highlighted that both the SIMS Medical Board and the State Medical Board, comprising five specialists including a cardiologist, had concluded in 2023 that there was no medical negligence on the part of the doctors.
However, despite these findings, the FIR was filed based on a Medico-Legal Expert’s report from the police department, which mentioned procedural lapses like not recording the dying declaration or preserving the rice tube. Importantly, the report did not establish any direct causal link between these omissions and the patient’s death.
⚖️ High Court’s Observation
The High Court ruled that the case lacked justification, emphasizing that criminal prosecution of doctors should not proceed without clear evidence of negligence directly causing the patient’s death. Accordingly, both the FIR and chargesheet were quashed.
💬 A Significant Verdict for the Medical Fraternity
This judgment is being seen as a major victory for medical professionals, reinforcing that doctors cannot be criminally prosecuted for outcomes beyond their control, especially when multiple medical boards have already ruled out negligence.
