The single judge bench of Justice Prabhat Kumar Singh of the Patna high court in the case of Neeta Tripathi @ Dr. Nita Tripathi Wife of Anil Kumar Tripathi, Resident of Mohalla - Chatradhari Bazar, South Jail, P.S. - Bhagwan Bazar, District – Saran Vs State of Bihar held that for ‘Negligence’ to amount to offense, element of mens rea must exits.
Brief Facts of the Case
The factual matrix of the case is that the wife of the complainant was admitted to the hospital run by Petitioner and where she was operated without any required clinical examination/tests. Thereafter, post-operational complications developed, and the petitioner made the opposite party No. 2 sign the discharge ticket, however, the victim was still admitted to the hospital. Furthermore, when the condition didn’t improve, she was taken to Patna, where another surgery occurred. The cognizance was taken by the learned judicial magistrate against the Petitioner under Sections 304A and 504 of the Indian Penal Code,1860 which was challenged by way of filing of a present application.
Contentions of the Petitioner
The learned counsel appearing on behalf of the Petitioner contended that the proceedings were initiated with an ulterior motive to blackmail and harass the Petitioner. Furthermore, It was contended that the victim was operated on after following the standard operating procedure by qualified doctors. At last, it was contended that even if all claims made in the complaint are true, they do not prima facie amount to an offense of rash or negligence on the part of a professional. As a result, the legality of criminal proceedings, in this case, cannot be established. The learned counsel relied upon the judgments titled Jacob Mathew Vs. State of Punjab and another, and Bombay Hospital & Medical Research Centre Vs. Asha Jaiswal & ors.
Contentions of the State
The learned counsel appearing on behalf of the state contended that the contents in the FIR clearly constitute the offense of rash negligence against the Petitioner.
Observations of the Court
The Hon’ble Court observed from the records that the Petitioner provided the best medical care until the time the victim was admitted to the hospital.
It was furthermore observed that Negligence and criminal negligence are distinct terms, and only the latter can be tried in a criminal court. An element of mens rea must exist in order for "Negligence" to constitute an offense. Doctors are not held accountable for negligence as long as they adhere to standards set by the medical profession at the time.
Based on these considerations, the Hon’ble Court was of the view that the continuation of criminal proceedings would be a misuse of the process of law.
Decision of the court
With the above direction, the Hon’ble Court allowed the quashing petition
Case Title: Neeta Tripathi Vs State of Bihar
Coram: Hon’ble Mr. Justice Prabhat Kumar Singh
Case No.: Criminal Miscellaneous No.48927 of 2015
Advocates for the Petitioner: Mr.Alok Kr.Choudhary, Advocate Mr. K.Jha, R.Tiwary & P.Kumar
Advocate for the Respondent: Mr.Sanjay Kumar Tiwary
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