The Delhi High Court has sought the viscera report of a 32-year-old man who had died allegedly due to the negligent approach of the doctors while he was on his honeymoon in Maldives in 2016.
A bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice A J Bhambhani asked the counsel for the state of Maharashtra to take directions from the Chief Secretary on the whereabouts of the viscera report of Shirish Kumar Ramaswamy so that it can be sent to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).
“Respondent (state of Maharashtra) is directed to seek instruction from the Chief Secretary of Maharashtra as to where and with whom the report is,” the bench said.
The court’s direction comes on the plea of the father, Chelakara Ramaswamy, who had challenged an order of the single judge which dismissed his petition seeking criminal action against Dorjee Khandu, the doctor who had treated his son in Maldives for his negligent attitude.
According to the plea, the newlywed couple went for their honeymoon on July 19, 2017 to Maldives. They were staying at a resort at the Vilu Reef Island which is around 120 km from Male and could be reached only by sea planes which fly during the day time.
The petition, filed by advocate RK Kapoor said that Shirish was fine till July 23, 2016. However the next day he complained of stomach upset and consulted Khandu, who managed a small and impoverished clinic at the Island. It is alleged that the doctor neither took any emergency steps nor consulted nor referred the case to any specialist.
The plea also claimed that the doctor gave two banned medicines to Shirish leading to breathlessness and ultimately to his death. It detailed that there was no facility for post mortem or embalming of the body.
On Monday, senior advocate Hariharan, who has been appointed amicus curiae, informed the court that history of the patient was not recorded, wrong combination of drugs was given to him and there was “negligence” at every step.
Following suggestions from the amicus, the court said that in the interest of justice we felt that the entire matter should be sent to AIIMs for further investigation.
The matter would be now heard on Thursday.
–India Legal Bureau