Writ petition by father-in-law demands CBI probe into Rajasthan doctor suicide case

Dr Archana Sharma

A week after family and friends of the late Dr Archana Sharma, 42, immersed her ashes in the Ganges, a criminal writ petition has been filed by Ashok Upadhyay, 69, her father-in-law, before the Supreme Court of India. The petition filed on April 9 demands a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or Special Investigation Team (SIT) under court supervision be appointed to investigate the death of Dr Sharma and the subsequent role of local political thugs and police officers from Lalsot, Rajasthan.

Dr Sharma had died by suicide after she was booked for allegedly causing the death of a pregnant woman in Rajasthan. Various medical bodies including the Indian Medical Association, the Association of Medical Consultants, Mumbai, etc. have condemned the Rajasthan police action of registering a murder case against Dr Sharma, obstetrician and gynaecologist, compelling the doctor to take an extreme step.

The associations claimed that the police violated the fundamental principles of deciding medical negligence as laid down by the Supreme Court, in its Jacob Mathew case judgment. The Apex court mandated a reference to a medical board before filing any case against a doctor and had raised concern about the arbitrary and coercive police action.

Contempt of court

The writ petition has demanded contempt of court proceedings against three police officers for not adhering to the Supreme Court guidelines as given in the Jacob Mathew case. The officers include Anil Kumar Beniwal, superintendent of police, Dousa; Shankar Lal Meena, dy superintendent of police, Lalsot and Ankesh Choudhary, station house officer, Lalsot.

Advocate Avadh Kaushik, who practices in the Supreme Court said, "The criminal writ petition was filed by Ashok Upadhyay, 69, father-in-law of the deceased Dr Sharma. The 140-page petition has already been filed before the apex court and is presently under scrutiny before we get the date of hearing (probably in the coming week). We have listed out various lapses on the part of the investigating police, which clearly exposes the connivance between the political thugs, local goons and even the police, thereby demanding an impartial and detailed probe into the case by an independent investigating agency."

"We have called for the entire record of the case and requested the quashing of FIR of murder case registered against Dr Sharma and her husband, also a doctor. Also, adequate compensation must be given to Dr Sharma's family and lastly, a suo motu cognisance against the three police officers for contempt proceedings," he added.

Change in FIR

Advocate Kaushik added, "We have come across glaring lapses in the FIR and also in the statement of the victim's (Asha Bairwa) labourer husband Lalu Ram, who had later denied having given any written complaint to the police, apart from other technical lapses on the part of the investigating officers."

Advocate Kaushik further added, "It is surprising that the Lalsot police have changed the sections in their FIR against the doctor couple from 302 to 304 (A). How could the police change their offences without even the investigation getting completed, and when the charge sheet was not even prepared? This clearly shows that the police are working in tandem with those involved in the death of Dr Sharma."

Hospital suffers

Dr Suneet Upadhyay, neuropsychiatrist and husband of late Dr Sharma said, "The only intention of my father to file the criminal writ petition in the apex court is that no innocent doctor should ever be harassed by those with a vested interest."

After the incident, the hospital's day-to-day operation has been affected, with hardly any patients visiting the Outpatient Department (OPD), other than those who were under psychiatric care, who continue to be treated by Dr Suneet.