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Dr. A. Suresh Kumar & Ors. v. Amit Agarwal

Civil Appeal · 2021 INSC 325Decided 8 Jul 2021
Civil Appeal No. 988 of 2021
Justice Vineet Saran · Justice Dinesh Maheshwari

Background

The respondent filed a medical negligence complaint against the appellant doctors before the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC). The doctors filed their written statement 7 days beyond the maximum 45-day period (30+15 days) normally allowed. The NCDRC refused to condone this delay, relying on a Supreme Court Constitution Bench ruling that capped the outer limit for filing a reply at 45 days.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court pointed out that the Constitution Bench ruling relied upon by the NCDRC had expressly stated it would apply only prospectively (from the date of that judgment onward). Since the doctors' written statement and condonation application had been filed well before that ruling, it could not be used retroactively to reject their application. The Court set aside the NCDRC's order, and, with the consent of both parties, itself condoned the 7-day delay on the condition that the doctors pay Rs. 25,000 as costs to the complainant within 15 days, directing the NCDRC to decide the underlying complaint expeditiously, preferably within six months.

Lesson Learnt

A Supreme Court ruling that is explicitly declared "prospective only" cannot be applied to penalize steps parties had already taken before that ruling existed: litigants are entitled to rely on the law as it stood at the time.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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