Medical negligence FIR sans expert opinion invalid, says Calcutta High Court

Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court has quashed criminal proceedings against a city-based doctor in a medical negligence case, holding that the prosecution was initiated without obtaining an expert medical opinion, as mandated by the Supreme Court guidelines.

Justice Bibhas Ranjan De, delivering the judgment, emphasised that the failure to adhere to this procedural safeguard rendered the continuation of the case against the doctor an abuse of the process of law.

The case originated from a complaint filed by the son of a deceased patient who had been admitted to Charnock Hospital in Teghoria, Kolkata, in January 2018.

The patient was initially treated for a urinary tract infection and pain in the lower limbs.

She was moved from the general ward to the ICU on the day of admission and was later declared fit for discharge.

However, on January 28, 2018, she reportedly developed respiratory issues and was placed on a ventilator.

The complainant alleged that a Resident Medical Officer administered the drug “Tramadol” without consulting the primary physician.

Based on this complaint, the police registered a case under Section 304A of the IPC, which deals with causing death by negligence.

A chargesheet was filed in October 2022.

During the hearing, the petitioner’s counsel argued that the complaint did not contain any allegation of negligence against the primary consultant and that no

expert opinion had been obtained before registration of the FIR, as required by the Supreme Court’s guidelines. The state submitted that a medical opinion was later obtained from a government doctor in February 2022, four years after the FIR.

The court observed that the FIR preceded the expert opinion and that the written complaint lacked any direct allegation against the petitioner.

Citing the binding precedent in the Jacob Mathew case, the court concluded that the proceedings could not be sustained and accordingly quashed the case against the doctor.