On Friday, the High Court of Calcutta ordered a fresh post-mortem examination on the body of a newborn baby, claimed to be that of the child of one Babun Mondal by a state-run hospital here but the man refused to accept it.
Mondal claimed that the body was not that of his son & moved a habeas corpus petition before the HC seeking that his baby be produced.
The Court directed, "For the moment, the DNA report & the post mortem report should be disclosed by the State when the matter appears next on October 13".
A division bench comprising Justice Sanjib Banerjee & Justice Arijit Banerjee directed that the body of the child be sent for a further post mortem to be conducted by the paediatric department at the state-run SSKM Hospital & ordered that a report be furnished by the time the matter appears again for hearing.
The bench ordered that this post-mortem report should particularly indicate the reasons for the apparent decomposition of the body & the other usual information as required to be furnished in course of a post-mortem report.
It also directed that the DNA report should be sent along with the body for corroboration by the SSKM authorities in terms of this order.
Passing the order, the Court observed that despite the objections taken on behalf of the Govt of West Bengal, particularly as to whether writ in the nature of habeas corpus may be sought for a body, the matter can be seen to cover considerable public interest & the manner in which state hospitals function.
The Court said that "The matter could have been closed if the state government was not found wanting in the perfunctory inquiry conducted by the hospital & the blame sought to be foisted on a lowly employee".
Petitioner's lawyer Brojesh Jha claimed that a baby was admitted at the state-run R G Kar Hospital on June 13.
It was claimed that though the child's father Babun Mondal was staying in the hospital premises, he wasn't allowed to see his baby & had been assured that the child was alright.
It was also alleged by the petitioner that from June 23 to 25, the mother of the child pumped breast milk for her baby as per the advice of doctors.
It was further submitted by Jha that on the evening of June 25, Mondal was informed that his child had died & on June 27, the hospital authorities took him to the morgue of the hospital & showed him a decomposed body claiming that it was his son's.
The father refused to take the body saying that it was of some other child & not of his son.
Jha said that the hospital authorities did not act on a complaint lodged by him, Mondal moved the habeas corpus petition before the HC.
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