SUPRIYA KUMARI M.C. Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Leave granted.

(2.) The present appeal has been preferred by the appellant challenging the order dtd. 16/10/2024 passed by the High Court of Kerala at Ernakulam in CRL. MC No. 6415 of 2018. The appellant's application filed under Sec. 482 of Code of Criminal Procedure (hereinafter referred to as 'CrPC') to quash orders dtd. 9/6/2011 in C.M.P. No. 2492 of 2009 in C.C. No. 501 of 2008 passed by the Court of the Judicial Magistrate of the First Class-I, Kannur as confirmed in order dtd. 11/7/2018 passed in Crl. R.P. No 17 of 2011 by the Court of Additional District & Sessions Judge-II, Thalassery was rejected by the High Court.

(3.) Briefly stated, the prosecution's case is that the patient, K.P. Muralidhar, was admitted at the Dhanalakshmi Hospital, Kannur on 28/5/2002 and piles surgery was scheduled on 29/5/2002. The appellant herein is a doctor who was working as a senior anaesthetist at the said hospital. On 29/5/2002 the surgery was conducted around 9:30 a.m. and the patient was shifted to the post- operative care ward in the evening wherein his health started deteriorating after 8 p.m. and eventually he collapsed on 30/5/2002 at around 4 a.m. Post-mortem conducted revealed that the deceased's left coronary had a blockage of 80% and the cause of death was identified to be 'death due to acute coronary insufficiency'. The prosecution alleges that the death was caused due to the negligence of the appellant, who was on call and was expected to administer anesthesia personally to the patient post-surgery, instead the appellant instructed the same to the attending nurse Rosamma Varghese (accused no. 3). Nurse Rosamma who following her instructions administered the analgesic 'sensorcaine' a few hours after which the patient lost consciousness and collapsed.