2 UP quacks get life imprisonment in 2017 C-Section death case
Amroha: Nine years after a 22-year-old woman died following a C-section allegedly performed by two unqualified practitioners at an unauthorised medical centre in Uttar Pradesh’s Amroha district, a court has sentenced both men to life imprisonment.
According to news reports, the two accused were convicted on September 29 for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, cheating and offences under the Indian Medical Council Act. They had been out on bail during the trial but were taken into custody following the conviction and sent to jail.
The court has also issued contempt notices to the then Amroha district magistrate and chief medical officer over their alleged failure to act against quacks despite Supreme Court directions, reports TOI.
The case dates back to October 3, 2017, when the pregnant woman was taken to the medical centre in Rehra after developing labour pains. According to the prosecution, one of the accused was running the facility despite being an unqualified medical practitioner. He assured the family that she could have a normal delivery, administered medicines and placed her on a drip.
When her condition deteriorated, the accused allegedly informed the family that an operation was required and called the second accused, also an unqualified practitioner, to the centre. The prosecution alleged that the two men performed the C-section around midnight without obtaining the family’s consent.
The woman died shortly after the procedure. The district administration subsequently sealed the medical centre and an FIR was registered against the two practitioners and the operator’s wife.
The investigation later found no evidence warranting prosecution of the accused's wife, who was given a clean chit. A chargesheet was subsequently filed against the two accused.
“During the trial, the court examined 12 prosecution witnesses, of whom six, including the complainant, turned hostile. However, we cross-examined the hostile witnesses and were able to establish the prosecution case before the court,” said the Additional District Government Counsel.
“The court has directed that notices be issued to the then district magistrate and chief medical officer of Amroha, who were serving in the district in October 2017, seeking their response on the alleged non-compliance with the directions of the Supreme Court and High Court,” the counsel said, reports the Indian Express.
The woman’s son, who survived the incident, is now nine years old.
