Anadi Tewari
A Public Interest Litigation has been moved before the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking direction to ensure legal immunity against civil or criminal prosecution of medical practitioners including final year medical students exclusively during the pandemic time.
The urgent plea filed by Advocate Ambika Yadav (petitioner) further sought the Court to ensure the right to safety and security under Article 21 for the foregoing healthcare workers and has also prayed before the Court to issue guidelines for the protection and well-being of the frontline healthcare workers against socio-legal consequences of this COVID-19 disease.
Relying on certain news reports, this plea has been moved before the high court stating:
“11. That the services of medical professionals, health workers and other related staffs are worthy of commendation, we can also, on the other hand, notice rising instances of mishandling of medical staffs by relatives of the patients or civil and criminal liability slapped on doctors and hospitals in the wake of unavoidable circumstances.”
The petitioner has further relied on the judgment of the Supreme Court in Jacob Mathew v. State of Punjab [AIR 2005 SC 2180] to highlight the need to protect the medical practitioners from frivolous or unjust prosecutions and the need to frame guidelines for the case of alleged negligence against them.
“On one hand, the healthcare professionals are being hailed as ‘Corona Warriors’ and on the other, they are being subjected to harassment,” the plea remarked.
“During pandemic times, the medical practitioners should be completely absolved from medical negligence in view of the trying conditions under which the doctors are working,” the petitioner further argues.
The petitioner has prayed before the Court to issue directives specifically for regulating medical activities and treatments in times of this COVID-19 pandemic, after due consultations between the government, medical council and other stakeholders.
Issues Raised
- Whether has COVID-19 increased the probability of medical negligence cases?
- Whether formulation of guidelines or issuance of an executive or consideration of an amendment to the epidemic act in regard to the extension of sovereign immunity to medical practitioners during the time of pandemic will help the state to discharge its welfare functions and tackle with pandemics socio-legal consequences in a more efficient manner?
- Whether the directive guidelines from the judiciary to safeguard the interest of medical practitioners is a need of the hour as the custodian of fundamental rights herein the Right to the safety of forerunners corona warriors?
The matter is listed before the Court on May 17 (tomorrow).
The bench of Chief Justice Ravi Shankar Jha and Justice Arun Palli will hear the matter.
Case: Ambika Yadav v. State of Haryana and Another [CWP-PIL No. 80/2021]