SAMBARA SABAR Vs. STATE OF ODISHA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Aggrieved by the avoidable 'maternal death' of his daughter-in-law Martha Sabar, who died after delivering a dead female child, the Petitioner has approached this Court with the present petition praying inter alia for the appointment of a Maternal Death Review Board comprised of independent members and for this Court to thereafter direct payment of compensation by the State. The Petitioner has also prayed for disbursal to the family of the deceased, her financial entitlements under the National Maternity Benefit Scheme (NMBS). General directions are also sought for the proper implementation of the various schemes of the central and state government including the Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) in the village Labanyagada, Gajapati District, where the Petitioner resides and in the whole of Odisha.

(2.) Enclosed with the petition is the enquiry report of Dr. P.L.N. Patro, the Additional District Medical Officer (ADMO), FW, Gajapati which concluded that there was no medical negligence at any stage in the treatment of deceased. It was opined therein that the cause of death may be "due to severe sepsis with pulmonary embolism". Enclosed with the petition is also the report of an independent fact-finding enquiry undertaken by a human rights organization, which has come to the opposite conclusion after interviewing those involved and examining the available records.

(3.) On 17/5/2022 this Court passed the following order in this petition: