Delhi court summons gynaecologist over negligence causing premature C-section in 2018

New Delhi: Summoning a gynaecologist in connection with a 2018 medical negligence case, a Delhi court recently observed that the gynaecologist’s negligence in calculating a patient’s expected date of delivery led to an unnecessary premature C-section. Although both the mother and the child were healthy, they were put at unnecessary risk, noted the court.

Following the delivery, the child was born severely asphyxiated, causing him to live in a vegetative state due to scar rupture from the C-section. Five years later, the child passed away in December 2023. However, the court clarified that there was no evidence to directly link the child’s long-term illness to his death and therefore ruled out charges under Section 304A (causing death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

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The gynaecologist has been charged under Sections 336 (endangering life or personal safety of others), 338 (causing grievous hurt to any person) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information to screen offender).

Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) Amardeep Kaur of Rohini Court said, “…owing to the negligence in calculation of expected date of delivery (EDD), Anshu Bala (the patient) was unnecessarily subjected to C-section delivery a month before the actual due date. It is a known medical norm that premature deliveries are associated with multiple risks. Clearly, the patient and her baby were healthy and suffered no complication through the entire pregnancy, but were subjected to all those risks unnecessarily, due to the error on the part of the treating doctor."

The court also noted that the doctor administered oxytocin to induce labour, which led to complications during childbirth. The baby was born severely asphyxiated and remained in a vegetative state until his death in December 2023.

Earlier, in 2019, the Delhi Medical Council (DMC) had suspended the doctor's medical license for 90 days over the same incident. Seeking revocation of the direction, the doctor filed an appeal before the Medical Council of India, and in 2020, the Medical Council of India (MCI) found no prima facie case of negligence.

The patient’s husband, Dr Alok Kumar, later approached the Delhi High Court, which stayed the MCI’s order clearing the doctor of negligence. The matter is still pending before the High Court, as per the Indian Express news report.

Meanwhile, police investigations had concluded that there was insufficient evidence to charge the doctor criminally. Dissatisfied with this, the complainant moved the trial court, which has now summoned Dr Kumar.

The next hearing in the case is scheduled for April 16, 2026.

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