MHA rejects Health Ministry's draft of legislation bill to protect doctors from assault

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has rejected the draft of the Health and Services Personnel and Clinical Establishments (Prohibition of Violence and Damage of Property) Bill, prepared by the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry, said a senior official on Sunday.

The proposed Bill was the key to address the issue of violence against healthcare service professionals and damage to the property of clinical establishments.

It seeks maximum 10 years of imprisonment for those who assault doctors and Rs 10 lakh fine for assaulting healthcare personnel. This draft of the proposed legislation had been prepared by the Union Health Ministry earlier in September.

A senior Health Ministry official told ANI: "We have received comments from the MHA. They have objected to the draft of the Bill for preventing assault against doctors. As of now, we have kept it on hold."

"According to the MHA, if there is a central law for doctors, then other people will also demand the same. Hence, the central law to protect any specific fraternity will not come up for consideration and approval," said the official.

It is to be noted that the draft of the Bill states that "those who commit violence and cause grievous hurt as defined in Section 320 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) to any healthcare service personnel, shall be upon conviction, be punished with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than three years, but which may extend to ten years, and with fine, which shall not be less than two lakh rupees, but which may extend to ten lakh rupees."

"Hence, to protect healthcare service personnel and property of clinical establishments against violence, it is necessary to prohibit such acts of violence, to provide for punishment by making such acts of violence as cognizable and non-bailable offence and to provide compensation for injury to healthcare service personnel or for causing damage or loss to the property of clinical establishments," the draft of the Bill stated.