The Aurangabad Bench of the Bombay High Court recently quashed a medical negligence case against a doctor, pointing out the rise in frivolous legal actions targeting medical professionals to extract unjust compensation. The Court stressed the need to protect doctors from such unwarranted prosecutions.
Case Background
A division bench of Justices Vibha Kankanwadi and Santosh Chapalgaonkar was hearing the case of Dr. Prashant Ahire, an Ayurvedic practitioner accused of prescribing an “irrational combination” of modern allopathic medicines. The allegation was raised after the death of a patient, Gayatri Patil, who received preliminary treatment from Dr. Ahire between May 13 and 16, 2021, before her condition worsened, leading to her death due to brain hemorrhage on May 30, 2021.
Frivolous Prosecutions and Unjust Compensation
The Court highlighted a concerning trend of criminal prosecutions against doctors being used as a tool to pressure them into paying unjust compensation. Citing the Supreme Court’s judgment in the Jacob Mathew case, the judges emphasized the importance of shielding medical practitioners from such baseless claims.
Medical Reports and Subsequent Treatment
According to the case details, after her initial treatment by Dr. Ahire, Gayatri was treated by other doctors, including Dr. Sunil Choudhari, Dr. Rajesh Dabi, and Dr. Swapnil Patil, at different hospitals. Despite the allegations against Dr. Ahire, the Court found no evidence connecting the prescribed medication to Gayatri’s brain hemorrhage.
A report from a committee of doctors in Jalna district, submitted in September 2022, criticized Dr. Ahire for prescribing a combination of medicines, but the Court determined that this alone was insufficient to establish criminal liability under Section 304-A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The bench ruled that in the absence of a direct link between the patient’s death and Dr. Ahire’s alleged negligence, the prosecution could not proceed. As a result, the First Information Report (FIR) against Dr. Ahire was quashed.
Case Title: Dr. Prashant Ahire vs. State of Maharashtra
Criminal Application No.: 1737 of 2023