IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA Cr.Misc. No.1936 of 2008 DR. OM PRAKASH, SON OF SHRI DHARMDEO PRASAD, RESIDENT OF 222A, SRI KRISHNAPURI, P.S. S.K.PURI, PATNA AT PRESENT POSTED AS MEDICAL OFFICER, ADDL.PRIMARY HEALTH CENTRE, GHATARE, P.S. KARTAHAN, DISTRICT- VAISHALI AT HAJIPUR ----- PETITIONER Versus 1. THE STATE OF BIHAR 2. DR. ASHOK KUMAR SINHA, FATHER’S NAME NOT KNOWN, CIVIL SURGEON-CUM- CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER, VAISHALI AT HAJIPUR ----- OPP.PARTIES For the petitioner : M/ S Rama Kant Sharma, Sr.Advocate Lakshmi Kant Sharma, Advocate For the State : Mr.Jharkhandi Upadhaya, A.P.P. For Opp.Party no.2 : M/S Lala Sachindra Kumar,Adv, and Ashok Kumar Sinha, Advocate. ----------- O R D E R 3 12-12-2008 The petitioner is the sole F.I.R. named accused of Lalganj P.S. Case no.187 of 2007, registered under Sections 166,167,218,269 and 336 I.P.C. and being aggrieved thereby he has prayed for the quashing of the entire criminal prosecution. It appears that the Civil Surgeon-cum- Chief Medical Officer, Vaishali at Hajipur, impleaded herein as Opp.Party no.2, by his Memo No.2299 dated 8.8.2007 wrote to the Secretary, Health Department in the Government of Bihar and a copy thereof was sent to the Officer Incharge of Lalganj Police Station by way of information and necessary action in respect of non-availability of a doctor in the Emergency Ward of Lalganj Referal Hospital. It was also alleged that on 7.8.2007 , the Sub Divisional Officer, Special Division, Vaishali sustained gun-shot injury resorted to by - 2 - miscreants was brought by the local police at about 8 P.M. to the Emergency Ward of the Referal Hospital, but unfortunately, no doctor was available . It is stated that in the meanwhile the District Magistrate and the Superintendent of Police arrived and half an hour later Dr. Shashi Bhushan Prasad, Incharge Medical Officer, who resides at Lalganj came and rendered first aid to the injured and referred him to Hajipur Sadar Hospital. It is further alleged that on 8.8.2007 the informant personally went to the Referal Hospital and inquired the matter from Dr. Shashi Bhushan Prasad and Dr. Ganesh Singh who informed that on 7.8.2007, the petitioner was to be on Emergency duty , but he was unauthorizedly absent from duty. A request was also made to the Secretary of the Department of Health to take disciplinary action against the absent doctor. It has been submitted on behalf of the petitioner that from allegations levelled against him by the complainant/informant, it is apparent that no criminal offence is made out and at best the unauthorized absence would amount to a proceeding on the departmental side. However, the learned counsel for Opp.Party no.2 made attempt to support and justify the filing of the written report of the Civil Surgeon-cum- Chief Medical Officer but I am not impressed by his submissions. On the contrary the submissions advanced by Mr. Sharma appears to carry force. I am of the opinion that the continuance of the proceeding against the petitioner would amount to an abuse of the process of the - 3 - court. Accordingly, the F.I.R. of Lalganj P.S. Case No.187 of 2007 is hereby quashed and the application is allowed. ( Abhijit Sinha, J ) NKS/-