21 January,2015 11:20 AM IST | | Sailee Dhayalkar
A city court ordered the Azad Maidan police to file an FIR against a Bombay Hospital doctor for practising without renewing his medical licence for nearly 24 years
A city court ordered the Azad Maidan police to file an FIR against a Bombay Hospital doctor for practising without renewing his medical licence for nearly 24 years. The applicant had said the doctor had been treating her mother without medical registration.
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate M R Natu of the Esplanade court ordered the police to file the FIR under cognisable and non-bailable sections, based on the complaint filed by Colaba resident Nandini Suchde in September 2014.
Representational pic
Suchde, whose mother Gitika Ghosh died in Bombay Hospital under the care of Dr M L Saraf, filed the complaint after learning Dr Saraf had not renewed his medical registration with the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) from 1988-89 to October 2013 implying he had treated Ghosh while not being a registered doctor. mid-day had reported this on January 10, 2014.
A case of medical negligence has already been filed against Dr Saraf and four others, after Suchde blamed her mother's passing on medical negligence last year. While referring to the letter by the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC), the magistrate said, "Prima facie, ingredients are made out for attracting sections of cognisable offence, more particularly those under sections of the Maharashtra Medical Practitioners Act. Thus, I direct that investigation of this complaint be made as provided in section 156 (3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure."
The case
In January 2013, after Ghosh died in Bombay Hospital, Suchde wrote to the MMC and the Azad Maidan police in July 2013. The cops then wrote to J J Hospital, asking for opinion. On September 27, 2013, Suchde and the police received a letter from J J Hospital, stating Ghosh's death was because of "professional negligence."
A case was registered against Dr Saraf and four other doctors on the panel that treated Ghosh, under Sections 309 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 201 (giving false information), 420 (cheating), 467 (forging documents), 471 (fraudulent use of documents) 109 (abetment) of the IPC.
Suchde filed a Right To Information (RTI) application with the MMC to ascertain if Dr Saraf was registered with the Council. A reply in December 2013 stated he was not, and had, in fact, not renewed his licence since 1988-89. Suchde filed more applications and, armed with the replies, approached the police to file a case.
"My RTI request revealed Saraf, who was not even registered as a Master of Surgery, did my mother's surgery and was working with many other reputed hospitals. I wonder how a top facility like Bombay Hospital could have a doctor on its panel who wasn't registered for nearly 24 years. With these documents, I went to Azad Maidan police station and met top officers, but nobody took action. Thus, I went to court in September last year," Suchde told mid-day.
