Patna, April 29 The Patna High Court has quashed all criminal proceedings against Mamta Sinha, a gynaecologist, in a long-pending medical negligence case dating back to 2003.
The decision was delivered by Justice Chandra Shekhar Jha, setting aside a February 23, 2024, order passed by the Session Judge, Patna.
The case originated when complainant Satish Kumar alleged that his right kidney was removed without consent during treatment for abdominal pain by Shailesh Kumar Sinha, a surgeon.
Mamta Sinha, the wife of the primary accused, was present during the surgery as a part of the medical team and was later named as a co-accused in the case.
However, during the hearing, Advocate Ajay Kumar Thakur, representing Mamta Sinha, argued that the allegations against his client were baseless.
"Mamta Sinha is a gynaecologist by profession and had no role in the surgical procedure concerning the kidney," Thakur said.
Supporting the defence position, the State Consumer Commission had earlier ruled that the complainant's kidney was not surgically removed, but had become shrunken and non-functional, either due to congenital reasons or subsequent degeneration.
A medical board report from Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, in 2016 corroborated that the right kidney was physically present, although in a severely atrophied state, confirming the organ was not removed.
In its ruling, the High Court observed that there was no direct allegation or evidence against Mamta Sinha, except for her mere presence in the operation theatre.
Justice Jha emphasised that "it is not in the interest of justice to initiate criminal proceedings against a medical professional based solely on her presence during a surgery, without any substantive involvement or wrongdoing".
The court judgment brings an end to more than two decades of legal uncertainty for Mamta Sinha and is being seen as an important reaffirmation of judicial restraint in criminalising medical professionals without credible and specific evidence.
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