VIJAY KUMAR DHAWAN Vs. GURPREET SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By way of filing the present petition under Sec. 482 of Cr.P.C., the petitioners are seeking quashing of Criminal Complaint bearing No. 164 of 2015, titled as Gurpreet Singh vs. Dhawan Nursing Home, Bhikhiwind and others as well as the order dtd. 23/3/2018, passed by the Court of learned Judicial Magistrate First Class, Patti in the aforementioned complaint, thereby summoning the present petitioners to face trial for commission of offence punishable under Sec. 304-A of IPC read with Sec. 34 of IPC.

(2.) Brief facts of the case relevant for the purpose of disposal of the present petition are that the respondent/complainant filed the aforementioned complaint on the allegations that his wife Sandeep Kaur was pregnant. In the night of 1/1/2015, she started having labour pains. She was taken to Dhawan Nursing Home. Petitioners No. 1 and 2 had reached at the hospital on being called by the nurses. Wife of the complainant was taken to operation theatre. She was informed that she would have normal delivery and was asked to deposit the fee. Petitioners No. 2 and 3 had subsequently informed the complainant that a surgery was to be performed for delivery. Petitioner No.4, who was a practicing doctor in Guru Nanak Dev Hospital, Amritsar had been called and had performed surgery. The wife of the complainant had given birth to twin daughters. The complainant was not allowed to meet his wife thereafter and was informed that she was bleeding profusely and that her uterus was to be removed as her condition was serious. The complainant was made to sign some papers. The condition of his wife had worsened. She was taken to some other hospital and was operated again. The doctors of that hospital informed that her surgery had not properly performed by the petitioners and her uterus had not been taken out, due to which, infections had spread in her body. She died during the course of her treatment on 5/1/2015. By holding the petitioners responsible for the death of his wife, the complainant prayed for taking penal action against them.

(3.) After presentation of the complaint before the jurisdictional Magistrate, preliminary evidence was recorded. The complainant examined himself as CW-2 and produced two more witnesses i.e. CW-1 Gursewak Singh and CW-3 Dr. Rana Ranjit Singh, besides placing reliance upon certain documentary evidence. Vide order dtd. 23/3/2018, the learned Magistrate observed that a prima facie case was made out to issue process against the petitioners and proceeded against them for commission of offence punishable under Sec. 304-A read with Sec. 34 of IPC. Feeling aggrieved by the same, the petitioners have filed the present petition.