No Bail to doctor who rammed his car inside hospital in drunken state leading to death of one patient, miscarriage of another

Jodhpur:Denying relief to a doctor, who allegedly caused the spot death of one person and the miscarriage of a pregnant woman as a result of his drunk driving at the hospital premises, the Rajasthan High Court has rejected his bail application.

Rejecting the bail plea, the High Court bench of Justice Kuldeep Mathur observed, "In the prima facie opinion of this Court, the incidents of speeding and drunken driving are increasing day by day and are the major contributing factors in the road accidents. While granting bails in such matter, the seriousness of the accusations has to be taken into consideration. The cases of such nature just cannot be compared with the cases where a person causes death by rash or negligent driving."

However, the bench clarified that the observations made by it are for "limited purposes of adjudication of the bail application. The trial court shall not get prejudiced by the same."

The concerned doctor, who works in a Government Hospital, allegedly was driving his car in an inebriated state and caused an accident at the hospital, where he was working. His car rammed into the general public/patients standing there resulting in on the spot death of one person and miscarriage of a pregnant woman.

Approaching the High Court seeking a bail, the counsel for the doctor submitted that he had been falsely implicated in the present case. The doctor's counsel further submitted that the alleged offence under Section 304 IPC is not made out against the doctor and at most, it is a case of Section 304-A IPC.

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It was further submitted by the counsel for the doctor that the alleged incident took place when the appellant was driving the offending car, who on entering the hospital suddenly lost control while the car was going through a speed breaker. Further, the doctor's counsel submitted that due to rush and congestion near the hospital gate, unfortunately, the car had plowed into the persons standing there.

Lastly, the doctor's counsel argued that the doctor who is serving as a doctor in a Government Hospital is now near the age of retirement. It was further pointed out that since the investigation has already been completed, challan has already been filed and no recovery was due to be made from the doctor, no fruitful purpose would be serve by keeping him behind the bars. With this argument, the doctor's counsel urged the HC bench to accept the bail application.

On the other hand, the Public Prosecutor and counsel for the complainant opposed the bail application vehemently. Referring to the report of the Medical Jurist, Government Hospital, Nagaur pertaining to alcohol consumption by the doctor and submitted that in the concerned report, it was clearly opened that the doctor had consumed alcohol/liquor. Referring to this, the doctor's counsel submitted that on the fact of the report , the argument that the doctor had lost control over the car due to rush and recognition near the hospital gate should be rejected.

Further, the Public Prosecutor submitted that due to the concerned incident on January 5, 2023, not only one person lost his life and a lady suffered miscarriage but 4-5 persons standing near the hospital were also injured. The complainant's counsel further referred to the charge sheet submitted by the investigating agency and urged the court not to grant the bail to the doctor.

While considering the plea, the HC bench referred to the Supreme Court order in the case of State Through PS Lodhi Colony, New Delhi vs. Sanjeev Nanda, where the top court had made observations regarding menace of drunken driving. The HC bench further referred to the Apex Court order in the case of Alister Anthony Pareira vs. State of Maharashtra.

The Court denied bail to the doctor after taking note of relevant documents and noted,

"Having gone through FIR, charge sheet and medical report dated 05.01.02023, this Court has no hesitation in reaching to a prima facie conclusion that the appellant who is doctor by profession was well aware of the consequences of driving the car in inebriated state under the influence of liquor. The petitioner in the morning hours, drove his car after consuming alcohol causing an accident which resulted in death of a person, a pregnant woman suffering miscarriage coupled with injuries to several persons/patients near the hospital gate."

"The argument with regard to vehicle getting imbalanced due to rush and congestion around the hospital gate cannot be appreciated at this stage especially when the matter is yet to be tried by the competent criminal court so also the statement of complainant is yet to be recorded," the HC bench clarified.

Rejecting the bail application, the Court further observed,

"In the present case, the appellant who is working as a doctor in a Government hospital, saddled with the moral obligation of providing treatment to ailing patients has despite being aware of ill effects of drunken driving, in an inebriated state driven his car on a highly congested road inside the hospital in which he worked, resulting in death of a person, a pregnant woman’s miscarriage and injuries to 4-5 other persons."

To read the HC order, click on the link below:

https://medicaldialogues.in/pdf_upload/rajasthan-hc-bail-rejected-213330.pdf

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