Form panel by Mar 31 for medical negligence cases: HC to Maha

The Bombay High Court today granted Maharashtra government time till March 31 to come out with a notification to establish a high-powered committee to hear grievances of victims of medical negligence.
Hearing a suo motu petition against three policemen for assaulting a doctor in Solapur, a Bench headed by Chief Justice Mohit Shah had directed the state a week ago to come out with such a notification.
However, today, the state sought time and the Bench granted its plea.
Such a panel would hear the victims of medical negligence and recommend measures to take action against the accused.
Under Section 7 of Maharashtra Medicare Service Persons and Medicare Service Institution (MMSPMSI) Act, establishment of such an authority is mandatory. Hence, the HC asked the state to set up this committee as soon as possible.

The state today informed the bench that in keeping with a court directive, the three policemen, who had assaulted a doctor in Solapur Government hospital for not attending to a woman in labour pains on December 31, 2013, were arrested under a stringent law on January 12.

The policemen were first booked under IPC for bailable offences and granted bail. However, the court, after viewing CCTV footage of the incident, had directed the government to book the policemen under MMSPMSI Act under which offences were cognisable and non-bailable.
The court directed Additional Home Secretary and Director General of Police to issue a circular within two weeks asking the police force to invoke provisions of MMSPMSI Act in cases of assault on doctors.

The bench further directed that copies of the Act should be circulated in all the police stations in the state as many policemen were not aware of this stringent law.
Meanwhile, Dean of Solapur Hospital filed an affidavit in the court, saying all arrangements were in place to tackle emergency cases on that day (December 31) when the doctor was assaulted by the policemen.