HIGH COURT MAY 2025 WEEKLY ROUNDUP | Stories on OYO v. Zostel; Arjun Rampal’s Tax Evasion; Kota Student’s Suicide; and more
A quick legal roundup to cover important stories from all High Courts this week.
medical negligence
‘For every mishap or death during treatment, Doctor cannot be punished’; Kerala HC quashes medical negligence case
The Court clarified that only in cases involving a gross lack of competence, inaction, or a wanton disregard for the patient’s safety, stemming from gross ignorance or gross negligence, can a doctor be made to face criminal charges.
‘Doctors have no incentive to willfully endanger life in trust-driven healthcare ecosystem’; Rajasthan High Court quashes FIR alleging Medical Negligence
“The solemn obligation of the legal system is to distinguish between misfortune and culpability, and to ensure that human suffering, however profound, does not substitute for proof required under the law.”
Delhi High Court dismisses petition alleging medical negligence and misconduct against doctors at Max Super Speciality Hospital
“While it is acknowledged that doctors are expected to apply a reasonable level of expertise and exercise due diligence in their practices, their conduct must not be judged against preconceived notions of a specific procedure or outcome.”
Post-surgery deterioration not automatically indicative of medical negligence; Supreme Court overturns NCDRC order
“When reasonable care, expected of the medical professional, is extended or rendered to the patient unless the contrary is proved, it would not be a case for actionable negligence.”
Medical practitioners to be protected from frivolous and unjust prosecution, particularly which are for extracting unjust compensation: Bombay HC
The report submitted by the Committee nowhere suggests that prescription of irrational combination of medicines by applicant is responsible for brain hemorrhage and consequential death of complainant’s wife.
When DCDRC took to task a surgeon for conducting delayed Laparotomy based on a 2-day old CT Scan report
The Commission held that reliance on old CT scan report; invalid consent & unjustified delay in conducting Laparotomy, constituted Medical Negligence and directed the surgeon to pay compensation of Rs. 4 Lakhs.
NCDRC directs Fortis Heart Centre to pay Rs 65 Lakhs compensation for gross negligence in conducting angioplasty
NCDRC pointed out that the Fortis hospital and the assigned doctor ignored the condition of the patient’s lungs and started angioplasty, thereby resulting in severe pulmonary edema within half an hour of beginning the procedure leading up to further complications.
Know Thy Judge | Supreme Court of India: Justice Aravind Kumar
Prior to his elevation to the Supreme Court, Justice Aravind Kumar, as Chief Justice of Gujarat High Court initiated steps to tackle pendency of cases and initiated conversion of roadways buses into schools for poor children.
Private complaint regarding doctor’s rashness or negligence cannot be entertained, unless accompanied by credible opinion of another doctor: Jharkhand HC
The Court stated that allowing the proceedings to continue will amount to an abuse of the process of law.
NCDRC finds Care Hospital liable for deficiency in services which led to a patient contracting and ultimately dying due to Hospital Associated Infections
This 24-year-old matter revolved around a sixth-generation leading jeweller of Hyderabad who in 2002 underwent coronary surgery at Care Hospital but developed life threatening complications after the operation.
Delhi High Court refuses to entertain petition against NCDRC Order on territorial jurisdiction objection
When the Court suggested it was not inclined to entertain the writ petition due to territorial jurisdiction, the petitioner’s counsel sought permission to withdraw the petitions. The Court granted this request, allowing the petitioner to take appropriate legal steps.
Consumer Dispute| ‘Eggshell Skull rule’ to be applied in Medical Negligence Cases of victims with pre-existing vulnerability or medical condition: Supreme Court
Supreme Court said that the Compensation by its nature must be just, and described the compensation awarded to the appellant as ‘paltry’.
2024 SCC Vol. 2 Part 2
Constitution of India — Arts. 136 and 142 — Uncompoundable offences: Quashing of criminal proceedings on basis of compromise petition, when permissible,
Calcutta High Court sets aside medical negligence charges on finding ‘palpable wrongs in the adjudication process’
The Calcutta High Court observed that the benchmark for determining negligence in professional cases is the ‘reasonable standard’, fixed by the law of averages.
Why DCDRC found Cloud Nine Hospital to be guilty of severe deficiency in service while conducting a Code Pink Mock Drill for infant abduction?
DCDRC was of the view that the manner of conducting the mock drill by the hospital was not only a severe deficiency in service but also as an extreme type of unfair trade practice.
After surgery in 1991, woman suffering for 12 years finds nut-bolt inside body; NCDRC upholds compensation of Rs 13.77 lakhs
The opposite parties denied her admission or operation in the clinic and also refuted the removal of rusted nut and bolt by claiming that they ought to be stainless steel material for medical use.
Strong incriminating evidence required for application of Res Ipsa Loquitor doctrine; SC upholds NCDRC order denying medical negligence
“For applying the principles of Res Ipsa Locutor, it is necessary that a ‘Res’ is present to establish the allegation of negligence.”
Bengaluru DCDRC dismisses medical negligence case against Apollo Hospitals due to absence of necessary party and related documentary evidence
The Commission stated that the treating doctor is the best judge in a case where multiple options/ tests are available in respect of a particular ailment.
SC orders IAF, Army to pay Rs. 1.55 Crore to Veteran infected with HIV after blood transfusion at Military hospital; Centre and States to issue HIV/AIDS guidelines, welfare schemes
The Supreme Court held that the IAF and the Indian Army were vicariously liable, jointly and severally, as the former was Veteran’s immediate employer and the latter was the organization controlling and in charge of the Military Hospital