OM SHARMA Vs. RAJESH KUMAR SRIVASTVA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellant-Om Sharma seeks to prefer this contempt appeal under Section 19 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 against the order dated 2/5/2006 passed by Hon'ble Sunil Ambwani, J. on Application No. 782 of 2006 in Contempt Petition No. 820 of 2002, Rajesh Kumar Srivastava v. A. P. Verma. The relief prayed for is for setting aside the said order dated 2/5/2006. The appellant also prays that his application for registration of Hari Eye Hospital, Agra Road, Hathras be allowed.

(2.) We have heard Sri P. N. Saxena, learned Senior Advocate for the appellant and have carefully gone through the record. The background be taken note of. The impugned order came to be passed while monitoring the directions Issued by the Supreme Court in the case of D. K. Joshi v. State of U.P., (2000) 5 SCC 80. The matter pertains to the methods adopted by quacks in dodging the authorities in carrying out their activities in medical field. An application was filed by Sri Hari Eye Hospital, Agra Road, Hathras through its Secretary Om Sharma (Appellant), who professed himself to be a doctor and an eye specialist. An inquiry was initiated. The Chief Medical Officer submitted his report that eye operations were being carried out in the said hospital but the records were not maintained. The Intervenor Saurabh Agarwal contended that the applicant was only an optometrist. He was, however, holding Eye Camps performing eye operations without any qualifications. Hari Eye Hospital was an old trust which had allegedly been grabbed by the appellant - a self styled doctor who also claimed himself to be the Medical Superintendent, Director, Secretary and the Chief Medical Officer of the Trust as per the exigency of the situation. Qualified doctors in the District also made repeated complaints against the appellant regarding this activities of performing operations and holding camps without any qualification. So, orders were issued directing the Chief Medical Officer to make inquiry. The appellant Om Sharma produced a Diploma of Optometry (1965) of the State Medical Faculty, U.P. which was verified and found to be valid. However, the said Diploma did not clothe him with qualifications for treatment as eye specialist and to perform surgical operations. In his application for registration with the Chief Medical Officer, the appellant had not provided any information about himself except that he was in-charge of the Hospital. The name of the doctor working in the hospital was disclosed as Dr. Lal Chand, MBBS MS, Opthomology with registration No. 14380. The factum of Dr. Lal Chand being qualified medical practitioner was not denied from the side of the intervenor but it v/as submitted that he was practising at Agra where he had a nursing home. On inspection, the appellant could not produce any operation register and Dr. Lal Chand was also not found present. One Swarn Lata Jain appeared in Court in dark glasses and stated that Sri Om Sharma claiming himself to be a doctor as eye specialist had treated her without taking any care or caution. She developed severe complications and complained to the Chief Medical Officer but no action was taken. It happened in 1988. She could not recover and her treatment was still going on. It was alleged that some complaints had also been made against Om Sharma to the Consumer Forum.

(3.) Before the learned Single Judge, another degree of the appellant Om Sharma, namely, Doctor of Science in Ayurveda from Jhansi Ayurvedic Vlshwavidyalaya dated 25-5-1973 was produced to contend that he was also a doctor in Ayurved. It was wholly irrelevant for the purpose of the appellant practising as eye specialist and performing surgical operations.