tion Criminal No 270 of 1988
Under Article 32 of the Constitution of India
Parmanand Katara in person
AD Singh UR Lalit NP
RB Misra
Ms A Subha shini BR Agarwala Ms Sushma Manchanda Ms Suman Rasto gi and Ms 1000 Indu Malhotra NP for the Respondents
The following Judgments of the Court were delivered RANGANATH MISRA J
The petitioner who claims himself to be a small human right activist and fighting for the good causes for the general public interest  filed this applica tion under Article 32 of the Constitution asking for a direction to the Union of India that every injured citizen brought for treatment should instantaneously be given medi cal aid to preserve life and thereafter the procedural criminal law should be allowed to operate in order to avoid negligent death and in the event of breach of such direc tion apart from any action that may be taken tot negli gence appropriate compensation should be admissible
He appended to the writ petition a report entitled Law helps the injured to die  published in the Hindustan Times
In the said publication it was alleged that a scooterist was knocked down by a speeding car
Seeing the profusely bleed ing scooterist a person who was on the road picked up the injured and took him to the nearest hospital
The doctors refused to attend on the injured and told the man that he should take the patient to a named different hospital locat ed some 20 kilometers away authorised to handle medico legal cases
The samaritan carried the victim lost no time to approach the other hospital but before he could reach the victim succumbed to his injuries
The Secretary Ministry of Health  Family Welfare of the Union of India the Medical Council of India and the Indian Medical Association were later impleaded as respond ents and return to the rule has been made by each of them
On behalf of the Union of India the Under Secretary in the Ministry of Health  Family Welfare filed an affidavit appending the proceedings of the meeting held on 295
1986 in which the Director General of Health Services acted as Chairman
Along with the affidavit decisions of papers relating to the steps taken from time to time in matters relating to matters relevant to the application but confined to the Union Territory of Delhi were filed
A report in May 1983 submitted by the Sub Committee set up by the Home Department of the Delhi Administration on Medico Legal Centers and Medico Legal Services has also been produced
The Secretary of the Medical Council of India in his affida vit referred to clauses 10 and 13 of the Code of Medical Ethics drawn up with the approval of the Central Government under section 33 of the Act by the Council wherein it had been said 10 
Obligations to the sick 1001 Though a physician is not bound to treat each and every one asking his services except in emergencies for the sake of humanity and the noble traditions of the profession he should not only be ever ready to respond to the calls of the sick and the injured but should be mindful of the high character of his mission and the responsibility he incurs in the discharge of his ministrations he should never forget that the health and the lives of those entrusted to his care depend on his skill and attention
A physician should endea vour to add to the comfort of the sick by making his visits at the hour indicated to the patients
The patient must not be neglected A physician is fee to choose whom he will serve
He should however respond to any request for his assistance in an emergency or whenever temperate public opinion expects the service
Once having undertaken a case the physician should not neglect the patient nor should he withdraw from the case without giving notice to the patient his relatives or his responsible friends sufficiently long in advance of his withdrawal to allow them to secure another medical attendant
No provi sionally or fully registered medical practi tioner shall wilfully commit an act of negli gence that may deprive his patient or patients from necessary medical care
 The affidavit has further stated The Medical Council of India therefore ex pects that all medical practitioners must attend to sick and injured immediately and it is the duty of the medical practitioners to make immediate and timely medical care avail able to every injured person whether he is injured in accident or otherwise
It is also submitted that the formalities under the Criminal Procedure Code or any other local laws should not stand in the way of the medi cal practitioners attending an injured person
It should be the duty of a doctor in each and every casualty department of the hospital to attend such person first and thereafter take care of the formalities under the Criminal Procedure Code
The life of a person is far more important than the legal formalities
In view of this the deponent feels that it is in 1002 the interest of general human life and welfare that the Government should immediately make such provisions in law and amendments in the existing laws if required so that immediate medical relief and care to injured persons andor serious patients are available without any delay and without waiting for legal for malities to be completed in the presence of the police officers
The doctor attending such patients should be indemnified under law from any action by the Governmentpolice authori tiesany person for not waiting for legal formalities before giving relief as a doctor would be doing his professional duty for which he has taken oath as medical practition er
It is further submitted that it is for the Government of India to take necessary and immediate steps to amend various provi sions of law which come in the way of Govern ment Doctors as well as other doctors in private hospitals or public hospitals to attend the injuredserious persons immediately without waiting for the police report or completion of police formalities
They should be free from fear that they would be unneces sarily harassed or prosecuted for doing his duty without first complying with the police formalities  
It is further submit ted that a doctor should not feel himself handicapped in extending immediate help in such cases fearing that he would be harassed by the Police or dragged to Court in such a case
It is submitted that Evidence Act should also be so amended as to provide that the Doctor s diary maintained in regular course by him in respect of the accident cases would be accepted by the courts in evidence without insisting the doctors being present to prove the same or subject himself to cross examina tionharassment for long period of time
 The Indian Medical Association which is a society registered under Act 21 of 1860 through its Secretary has stated in the affidavit that the number of deaths occurring on account of road accidents is on the increase due to lack of timely medical attention
In the affidavit it has further stated The second reason is on account of the pre vailing police rules and Criminal Procedure Code which necessitate the fulfilment of several legal formalities before a victim can be rendered medical aid
The rationale behind this com 1003 plicated procedure is to keep all evidence intact
However time given to the fulfilment of these legal technicalities sometimes takes away the life of a person seriously injured
Members of public escorting the injured to the nearest hospital are reluctant to disclose their name or identity as he is detained for eliciting information and may be required to be called for evidence to Courts in future
Similarly the private practicing doctors are harassed by the police and are therefore reluctant to accept the roadside casualty
It is submitted that human life is more valuable and must be preserved at all costs and that every member of the medical profession may every human being is under an obligation to provide such aid to another as may be necessary to help him survive from near fatal accidents
 The Committee under the Chairmanship of the Director General of Health Services re ferred to above had taken the following deci sions 1
Whenever any medico legal case attends the hospital the medical officer on duty should inform the Duty Constable name age sex of the patient and place and time of occurrence of the incident and should start the required treatment of the patient
It will be the duty of the Constable on duty to inform the con cerned Police Station or higher police func tionaries for further action
Full medical report should be pre pared and given to the Police as soon as examination and treatment of the patient is over
The treatment of the patient would not wait for the arrival of the Police or com pleting the legal formalities 2 Zonalisation as has been worked out for the hospitals to deal with medico legal cases will only apply to those cases brought by the Police
The medico legal cases coming to hospital of their own even if the incident has occurred in the zone of other hospital will not be denied the treatment by the hospital where the case reports nor the case will be referred to other hospital be cause the incident has occurred in the area which belongs to the zone of any other hospi tal
The same police formalities as given in para 1 above will be followed in these cases
1004 All Government Hospitals Medical Institutes should be asked to provide the immediate medical aid to all the cases irre spective of the fact whether they are medico legal cases or otherwise
The practice of certain Government institutions to refuse even the primary medical aid to the patient and referring them to other hospitals simply because they are medico legal cases is not desirable
However after providing the pri mary medical aid to the patient patient can be referred to the hospital if the expertise facilities required for the treatment are not available in that Institution underlining are ours To the said affidavit of the Union of India also the minutes of the 10th Meeting of the Standing Committee on Forensic Medicine a Committee set up by the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Government of India held on 2741985 have been appended
These minutes show that the Committee was a high powered one consisting of the Director General the Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Health of the Govern ment of India a Professor from the All Indian Institute of Medical Sciences the Professor of Forensic Medicine from Maulana Azad Medical College New Delhi the Director  Professor of Forensic Medicine Bhopal the Deputy Director Central Forensic Science Laboratory Calcutta and certain officers of the Ministry
The proceedings indicate that the Director Generals of Police Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh were also members of the Committee
From the proceedings it appears that the question of providing medico legal facili ties at the upgraded primary health centers throughout the country was under consideration but the Committee was of the opinion that time was not ripe to think of providing such facilities at the upgraded primary health centers
One of the documents which forms part of the Union of India s affidavit is the copy of a letter dated 9th of May 1978 which indicates that a report on some aspects of Medico Legal Practice in India had been prepared and a copy of such report was furnished to the Health Secretaries of all the States and Union Territories more than eleven years back
From these documents appended to the affidavit of the Union of India it is clear that the matter has been engag ing the attention of the Central Government as also of the Governments of the States and the Union Territories for over a decade
No improvement of the situation however is perceptible and the problem which led to the filing of this petition seems to exist in hospitals and private nursing homes and clinics throughout the country
1005 In course of the hearing we directed the petitioner to place on record for the consideration of the Court and the respondents a draft guideline which could be prescribed to ease the situation keeping the professional ethics in view
When the same was filed copies thereof were circulated to the respondents and all parties have been heard on the basis of the guidelines submitted on behalf of the petitioner
The Medical Council of India has placed on record a copy of the Code of Medical Ethics and counsel has made a statement that there is no prohibition in law justifying the attitude of the doctors as complained
On the other hand he stated that it is a part of the professional ethics to start treating the patient as soon as he is brought before the doctor for medical attention inasmuch as it is the paramount obligation of the doctor to save human life and bring the patient out of the risk zone at the earliest with a view to preserving life
In the affidavit filed on behalf of the Union of India on 3rd August 1989 it has been said There are no provisions in the Indian Penal Code Criminal Procedure Code Motor Vehicles Act etc
which prevent Doctors from promptly attending seriously injured persons and acci dent case before the arrival of Police and their taking into cognisance of such cases preparation of FIR and other formalities by the Police
However the deponent most humbly submits that the respondent shall always abide by the directions and guidelines given by the Hon ble Court in the present case
 There can be no second opinion that preservation of human life is of paramount importance
That is so on account of the fact that once life is lost the status quo ante cannot be restored as resurrection is beyond the capacity of man
The patient whether he be an innocent person or be a criminal liable to punishment under the laws of the society it is the obligation of those who are in charge of the health of the community to preserve life so that the inno cent may be protected and the guilty may be punished
Social laws do not contemplate death by negligence to tantamount to legal punishment
Article 21 of the Constitution casts the obligation on the State to preserve life
The provision as explained by this Court in scores of decisions has emphasised and reiter ated with gradually increasing emphasis that position
A doctor at the Government hospital positioned to meet this State obligation is therefore duty bound to 1006 extend medical assistance for preserving life
Every doctor whether at a Government hospital or otherwise has the pro fessional obligation to extend his services with due exper tise for protecting life
No law or State action can inter vene to avoiddelay the discharge of the paramount obliga tion cast upon members of the medical profession
The obli gation being total absolute and paramount laws of proce dure whether in statutes or otherwise which would interfere with the discharge of this obligation cannot be sustained and must therefore give way
On this basis we have not issued notices to the States and Union Territories for affording them an opportunity of being heard before we accepted the statement made in the affidavit of the Union of India that there is no impediment in the law
The matter is extremely urgent and in our view brooks no delay to remind every doctor of his total obligation and assure him of the position that he does not contravene the law of the land by proceeding to treat the injured victim on his appearance before him either by himself or being carried by others
We must make it clear that zonal regulations and classifica tions cannot also operate as fetters in the process of discharge of the obligation and irrespective of the fact whether under instructions or rules the victim has to be sent elsewhere or how the police shall be contacted the guideline indicated in the 1985 decision of the Committee as extracted above is to become operative
We order accord ingly
We are of the view that every doctor wherever he be within the territory of India should forthwith be aware of this position and therefore we direct that this decision of ours shall be published in all journals reporting deci sions of this Court and adequate publicity highlighting these aspects should be given by the national media as also through the Doordarshan and the All India Radio
The Regis try shall forward adequate number of copies of this judgment to every High Court so that without delay the respective High Courts can forward them to every Sessions Judge within their respective jurisdictions and the Sessions Judges in their turn shall give due publicity to the same within their jurisdictions
The Medical Council of India shall forward copies of this judgment to every medical college affiliated to it
Copies of the judgment shall be forwarded to every State Government with a direction that wide publicity should be given about the relevant aspects so that every practicing doctor would soon become aware of the position
In case the State Governments and the Union Territories which have not been heard file any representation against the direction they shall have liberty to appear before this Court and ask for appropriate 1007 direction within three months from now
Applications filed after that date shall not be entertained by the Registry of this Court
Until altered this judgment shall be followed
Before we part with the case we place on record our appreciation of the services rendered by the petitioner by inviting the attention of the Court to the problem raised in this case
We must also place on record our appreciation of the cooperation and understanding exhibited by the Union of India in the relevant Ministry the Medical Council of India and the Indian Medical Association
No order for costs
OZA J I entirely agree with what has been observed by my learned brother and also agree with the directions indi cated in the Order made by Hon ble Shri Justice RN Misra but I would like to add As has been quoted by my learned brother a high power committee by the Government of India was appointed at a high level and this was long before and the proceedings of 29th May 1986 have been filed and have also been quoted
The Medical Council of India alongwith their affidavit have filed Code of Medical Ethics which everyone in the medical profession is expected to follow but still the news item which is the starting point of this petition is of 1988
The Code of Medical Ethics flamed by the Medical Council was approved on 23rd October 1970
This only reveals an unfor tunate state of affairs where the decisions are taken at the higher level good intentioned and for public good but unfor tunately do not reach the common man and it only remains a text good to read and attractive to quote
It could not be forgotten that seeing an injured man in a miserable condition the human instinct of every citizen moves him to rush for help and do all that can be done to save the life
It could not be disputed that inspite of development economical political and cultural still citi zens are human beings and all the more when a man in such a miserable state hanging between life and death reaches the medical practitioner either in a hospital run or managed by the State public authority or a private person or a medical professional doing only private practice he is always called upon to rush to help such an injured person and to do all that is within his power to save life
So far as this duty of a medical professional is concerned its duty coupled with human instinct it needs no decision nor any code of ethics nor any rule or law
Still in the Code of Medical Ethics framed by the Medical Council of India Item 13 specifically provides for it
Item 13 reads as under 1008 13
The patient must not be neglected
A physician is free to choose whom he will serve
He should however respond to any request for his assistance in an emergency or whenever temperate public opinion expects the service
Once having undertaken a case the physician should not neglect the patient nor should he withdraw from the case without giving notice to the patient his relatives or his responsible friends sufficiently long in advance of his withdrawal to allow them to secure another medical attendant
No provi sionally or fully registered medical practi tioner shall wilfully commit an act of negli gence that may deprive his patient or patients from necessary medical care
 Medical profession is a very respectable profession
Doctor is looked upon by common man as the only hope when a person is hanging between life and death but they avoid their duty to help a person when he is facing death when they know that it is a medico legal case
To know the re sponse of the medical profession the Medical Council of India and also the All India Medical Association were no ticed and were requested to put up their cases
Some apprehensions were expressed because of some misun derstanding about the law of procedure and the police regu lations and the priorities in such situations
On the basis of the affidavit filed by the Union of India and considering the matter it is clear that there is no legal impediment for a medical professional when he is called upon or requested to attend to an injured person needing his medical assist ance immediately
There is also no doubt that the effort to save the person should be the top priority not only of the medical professional but even of the police or any other citizen who happens to be connected with the matter or who happens to notice such an incident or a situation
But on behalf of the medical profession there is one more apprehen sion which sometimes prevents a medical professional in spite of his desire to help the person as he apprehends that he will be witness and may have to face the police interrogation which sometimes may need going to the police station repeatedly and waiting and also to be a witness in a court of law where also he apprehends that he may have to go on number of days and may have to wait for a long time and may have to face sometimes long unnecessary cross examina tion which sometimes may even be humiliating for a man in the medical profession and in our opinion it is this appre hension which prevents a medi 1009 cal professional who is not entrusted with the duty of handling medico legal cases to do the needful he always tries to avoid and even if approached directs the person concerned to go to a State hospital and particularly to the person who is in charge of the medico legal cases
We there fore have no hesitation in assuring the persons in the medical profession that these apprehensions even if have some foundation should not prevent them from discharging their duty as a medical professional to save a human life and to do all that is necessary but at the same time
We hope and trust that with this expectation from the members of the medical profession the policy the members of the legal profession our law courts and everyone concerned will also keep in mind that a man in the medical profession should not be unnecessarily harassed for purposes of inter rogation or for any other formality and should not be dragged during investigations at the police station and it should be avoided as far as possible
We also hope and trust that our law courts will not summon a medical professional to give evidence unless the evidence is necessary and even if he is summoned attempt should be made to see that the men in this profession are not made to wait and waste time unnecessarily and it is known that our law courts always have respect for the men in the medical profession and they are called to give evidence when necessary and attempts are made so that they may not have to wait for long
We have no hesitation in saying that it is expected of the members of the legal profession which is the other honourable profes sion to honour the persons in the medical profession and see that they are not called to give evidence so long as it is not necessary
It is also expected that where the facts are so clear it is expected that necessary harassment of the members of the medical profession either by way of requests for adjournments or by cross examination should be avoided so that the apprehension that the men in the medical profes sion have which prevents them from discharging their duty to a suffering person who needs their assistance utmost is removed and a citizen needing the assistance of a man in the medical profession receives it
We would also like to mention that whenever on such occasions a man of the medical profession is approached and if he finds that whatever assistance he could give is not sufficient really to save the life of the person but some better assistance is necessary it is also the duty of the man in the medical profession so approached to render all the help which he could and also see that the person reaches the proper expert as early as possible
RSS Petition disposed of


Summary:
The appellant was a voter in the Mala constituency of the Kerala Legislative Assembly election whereof was held on March 23 1987 and the first respondent sitting Chief Minister of the State was declared elected from the said constituency
The appellant challenged the validity of 1st Respond ent s election on the ground of various corrupt practices committed by him
It was alleged in the Election Petition that at the instigation of the first respondent Respondent No 2 published a notice wherein it was stated that he was withdrawing his candidature
It was further stated in the notice that his purpose of contesting was to highlight the grievances of the Kudumbi Samudayam community with a view to get that community the status of Scheduled Caste and since the Kerala Government under the leadership of the first respondent returned candidate had decided to give a fa vourable consideration in regard to the community s denand for inclusion in the list of Scheduled Castes it had become necessary for the first respondent to win the election
He thereby offered his support to Respondent No 1
According to the appellant this act constituted a corrupt practice within the meaning of Section 123 of the Representation of the People Act 1951
It was further alleged by the Election Petitioner that Respondent No 1 committed corrupt practice by asking Government servants to lead processions in support of his candidature
A photograph of a procession was filed
Election Petitioner further alleged that at the instiga tion of the first respondent a video cassette called Mala yude Purogathi had been used in the constituency wherein persons like Shri Jose P George Government Pleader Kerala High Court Shri Tomas Thottappally 959 Veterinary Doctor spoke in support of the first respondent which is a corrupt practice
The video cassette was filed in a sealed cover
The first respondent contested the Election Petition and pleaded that since the copies of the photograph notice and the video cassette have not been furnished to him alongwith the Election Petition the same was liable to be dismissed in limine under section 861 for noncompliance with the provisions of section 831
The High Court rejected the contention of the appellant that Respondent No I could obtain copies of the documents from the High Court and defend his case and took the view that non furnishing to the respondent copies of the docu ments alongwith a copy of the Election Petition was non compliance with section 813 and as such the election petition was liable to be dismissed which the High Court did
Hence this appeal
Almost identical arguments were advanced before this Court
Counsel for the appellant strenuously contended that the video cassette etc
do not from an integral part of the petition on the other hand they had been filed in the proceedings as evidence of facts and copies of such docu ments need not be served on the respondent alongwith a copy of the Election Petition
On behalf of the first respondent it was mainly argued that failure to supply the documents violates the provisions of section 813 as in the absence of those the Election Petition served cannot be said to be true copy of the election petition as contemplated by sec tion 813 of the Act
Dismissing the appeal this Court HELD An election is the democratic method for selecting the representatives of the people in Parliament or in the Legislative Assembly
When a candidate gets himself elected by adopting or committing any corrupt practice his election must be set aside on proof of such corrupt practice
At the same time the procedure prescribed by the Act for challeng ing an election must be strictly followed
964H 965A Satya Narain vs Dhuja Ram  Whenever there is an allegation of corrupt practice the election petition shall contain a concise statement as to the material fact on which the petitioner relies and also must set forth full particulars of the corrupt practice alleged by the petitioner
964F 960 When a document forms an integral part of the election petition and a copy of such document is not furnished to the respondent alongwith a copy of the election petition the copy of the election petition will not be a true copy within the meaning of section 813 and as such the Court has to dismiss the election petition under section 861 for non compliance with section 813
965F G Section 813 which enjoins that every election peti tion shall be accompanied by as many copies thereof as there are respondents mentioned in the petition and every such copy shall be attested by the petitioner under his own signature to be a true copy of the petition
Section 813 however does not provide for giving of copies of the docu ments either referred to in the election petition or filed in the proceedings
963D Section 861 is a mandate on the Court to dismiss an election petition if there be a non compliance with the provisions of section 813
I963F The appellant in the instant case has not served on the first respondent a true copy of the election petition inasmuch as admittedly a copy of the video cassette which forms an integral part of the election petition was not served alongwith the election petition
It was noncompliance with the provisions of section 813 of the Act
M Karuna nidhi vs HV Hande 972H 973A The question of exercise of jurisdiction by the Court in permitting the appellant to supply the particulars does not arise at all
972F Sahodrabai Rai vs Ram Singh Aharwar   Thakur Virendra Singh vs Vimal Kumar   Mithilesh Kumar Pandey vs Baidyanath Yadav 1984 2 SCR 278 Azhar Hussain vs Rajiv Gandhi   Shri Udhav Singh vs Madhav Rao Scindia 1977 1 SCC 511 and A Madan Mohan vs Kalavakunta Chandrasekhara