Dr. Jayshree Ujwal Ingole v. State of Maharashtra
Background
A patient suffering from Haemophilia (a blood-clotting disorder) was admitted to a hospital after a road accident and was treated over several days by multiple doctors, including the appellant, a surgeon on call. When the patient developed abdominal pain, the appellant examined him, noted that a physician should be called, and then left the hospital without waiting for the physician to arrive; the physician never came, and the patient died the next morning. A criminal case under Section 304-A IPC was lodged against the appellant and two other doctors, and her plea to quash the proceedings was rejected by the Bombay High Court, Nagpur Bench.
Decision Breakdown
Applying the settled principles on criminal medical negligence from Jacob Mathew v. State of Punjab, the Supreme Court held that criminal liability for a doctor requires a much higher degree of negligence, gross negligence amounting to a reckless disregard for the patient's life, and not merely an error of judgment. The Court found that the appellant had attended to the patient when called, examined him, and taken the reasonable step of asking for a physician; leaving without waiting for the physician to turn up was, at most, an error of judgment, especially since the nursing staff never called her back even as the patient's condition worsened overnight. Since no case of rash or grossly negligent conduct was made out, and twenty years had already elapsed, the Court allowed the appeal and quashed the criminal proceedings against her, treating her position as similar to a co-accused doctor who had already been discharged.
Lesson Learnt
Doctors cannot be prosecuted criminally merely because a treatment decision turns out badly or in hindsight looks like it could have been handled better: criminal liability for medical negligence requires proof of gross, reckless negligence, not just an error of professional judgment.