During Treatment mostly Doctors donot do any mistake or commit or omit such a deed that would endanger life of patient or death,so any negligence cant be an act which should be considered as gross or Grievous hurt demanding trial of Doctors in criminal court as in Law,lawyers never booked criminally while dealing with any case of accused in any court.

                       In Pune,recently  a baby was born with deformity, missed on ultrasound. Patients prenatal check-ups were done at Ashwamegh Nursing Home. None of the doctors notified that the baby had a deformity. When the baby was born on November 4, 2016, the baby was born with deformities in his right leg, left hand and had no passage for urine. The father went to the then commissioner of police Rashmi Shukla and started a case against doctor imposing criminal act of 337 & and 338 of IPC.

             Section 337 in The Indian Penal Code: Causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others.—Whoever causes hurt to any person by doing any act so rashly or negligently as to endanger human life, or the personal safety of others, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees, or with both.

                    Section 338 in The Indian Penal Code: Causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others.—Whoever causes grievous hurt to any person by doing any act so rashly or negligently as to endanger human life, or the personal safety of others, shall be punished with impris­onment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, or with both.

            The Supreme Court recently stated in Dr Jacob Mathew’s case  that in order to make a doctor criminally responsible for the death of a patient, it must be established that there was negligence or incompetence on the doctor’s part which went beyond a mere question of compensation on the basis of civil liability. Criminal liability would arise only if the doctor did something in disregard of the life and safety of the patient. Negligence, in simple terms, is the failure to take due care and caution. It is a breach of a duty caused by the omission to do something which a reasonable person – guided by those considerations which ordinarily regulate the conduct of human affairs – should have done. It may also be doing something, which a prudent and reasonable person would not have done.The essential components of negligence are: ‘duty’, ‘breach’ and ‘resulting damage’. These definitions are rather relative and can change with the circumstances.

                            The main question in the above case was whether different standards could be applied to professionals (doctors) alone, placing them on a higher pedestal for finding criminal liability for their acts or omissions. The Court noted that as citizens become increasingly conscious of their rights, they are filing more cases against doctors in the civil courts, as also under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, alleging ‘deficiency in service’. Furthermore, doctors are being prosecuted under Section 304A of the IPC (causing death of any person by doing any rash or negligent act which does not amount to culpable homicide) which is punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years as happened two gynaecologist denied bail by mumbai high court later relieved by supreme Court .

                      They are also being prosecuted under Section 336 (rash or negligent act endangering human life), Section 337 (causing hurt to any person by doing any rash or negligent act as would endanger human life) or Section 338 of the IPC (causing grievous hurt to any person by doing any rash or negligent act so as to endanger human life). as done in above case where no gross negligence cant be established for mere missing some thing during antenatal period.

                  The Court observed that allegations of rashness or negligence are often raised against doctors by persons without adequate medical knowledge, to extract unjust compensation. This results in serious embarrassment and harassment to doctors who are forced to seek bail to escape arrest. If bail is not granted, they will have to suffer incarceration. They may be exonerated of the charges at the end; but in the meantime they would have suffered a loss of reputation; often irreversible. The tendency to initiate such cases has therefore to be curbed.

                         What you think regarding such court orders where Doctors are often tried criminally for their treatment if something untoward complication or death of patient occurs ?Why doctors are vulnerable of present day judicial activism?