Lucknow : In a significant relief to a doctor and an advocate accused of medical negligence and assault, the Allahabad High Court has quashed criminal proceedings against them, citing mala fide and malicious intent behind the prosecution.
The case stemmed from a 2007 FIR alleging that Dr. Srivastava performed a negligent surgery leading to malignancy, and later, along with Advocate Ramesh Kumar Srivastava, hit the patient with a motorcycle, causing a fracture during a dharna protest. The complainant, who ultimately died of cancer in 2009, had also alleged threats from the accused.
However, Justice Shree Prakash Singh noted the FIR was lodged with unexplained delay, based on hearsay witnesses, and ignored official records showing Dr. Srivastava was on emergency and Pulse Polio duty at the time of the alleged incident, and Advocate Srivastava was present at the High Court, corroborated by four affidavits.
The HC also pointed out that a departmental inquiry had already cleared the doctor of negligence, attributing any error to a private hospital.
Terming the prosecution malicious, the Court found no public witnesses for the alleged assault, despite it supposedly occurring in a public place, and highlighted investigative oversights.
The Court concluded that the proceedings were driven by personal grudge and failed compensation efforts, falling under the Bhajan Lal doctrine of abuse of criminal law, and accordingly quashed all proceedings against both accused.
