Kerala HC Orders Police To Refer Complaint of ‘Foreign Object’ Left Inside Patient During Surgery To MNP

The Kerala High Court recently directed the Station House Officer of Edathala gram panchayat to forward a complaint to the Expert Panel for Medical Negligence. The complaint was filed by the wife of a patient who alleged that a foreign object was left inside her husband’s body after a kidney removal surgery at Rajagiri Hospital.

Justice Kauser Edappagath, in a directive, stated that the “Station House Officer should forward the complaint (referred to as Ext.P1) to the Expert Panel (Medical Negligence) for their opinion if not already forwarded”.

According to the petitioner, her husband underwent surgery at Rajagiri Hospital to remove one of his kidneys due to cancer. However, his health deteriorated after the surgery, leading him to be admitted to Believer’s Church Medical College Hospital in Thiruvalla. A CT scan conducted at Believer’s Hospital revealed the presence of a foreign object inside the patient’s body, which was causing internal infection. Subsequently, the patient was transferred back to Rajagiri Hospital. However, the complaint alleges that the hospital took no action to remove the foreign object, and the patient was eventually discharged.

Afterwards, the patient’s wife lodged a complaint with the Station House Officer, invoking Section 154 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973, for cognizable offenses under Section 338 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.

The petitioner claims that the doctors and staff of Rajagiri Hospital should be held accountable for medical negligence, which is punishable under Section 338 of the IPC.

According to the petitioner, in accordance with Section 154 of the CrPC and the guidelines established by the Supreme Court in Jacob Mathew v State of Punjab (2005) 6 SCC 1 and Martin F D’souza v Mohd. Ishfaq (2009) 3 SCC 1, the Station House Officer must forward the complaint to the Expert Panel (Medical Negligence) to obtain its opinion before registering an FIR.

Consequently, the court instructed the Station House Officer to forward the complaint to the Expert Panel for Medical Negligence.

The petitioner was represented by Advocate Manjunath Menon and Advocate Arya Raghunath.