The government plans to bring an amendment to decriminalize deaths due to medical negligence

main point:

• Union Home Minister Amit Shah told the Lok Sabha that the Center is planning to bring an amendment to the Criminal Law Bill, which aims to exempt doctors from criminal prosecution in cases of death due to medical negligence.
• The announcement was welcomed by doctors and various medical associations, who had urged the government to decriminalize deaths due to medical negligence.
  

Union Home Minister Amit Shah informed the Lok Sabha on Wednesday that the Center is planning to bring in a key amendment to the Criminal Law Bill, which aims to exempt doctors from criminal prosecution in cases of death due to medical negligence.

The announcement was immediately welcomed by doctors and various medical associations, especially the Indian Medical Association (IMA), which urged the government to decriminalize deaths due to medical negligence.

Shah said that at present if any death occurs due to the negligence of a doctor, it is also considered as criminal negligence, almost equivalent to murder. He said the IMA had urged the government to look into the matter.

At present, criminal negligence cases are dealt with under IPC 304A, which deals with death caused by negligence. According to this section, if a person recklessly or negligently causes the death of another person, which does not amount to culpable homicide, he can face imprisonment of up to two years or a fine or both. Is.

The IMA, which represents over 3 lakh doctors in the country, immediately thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shah for accepting their proposal.

Dr. Rohan Krishnan, National President of the Federation of All India Medical Associations (FAIMA) thanked Shah for his step. He tweeted, “Home Minister @AmitShahOffice announced in Lok Sabha that doctors will be exempted from criminal medical negligence, medical negligence will be decriminalized. Amendment to this effect to be proposed by him today Respected @AmitShah announced a significant change in medical jurisprudence.”

The Federation of Resident Doctors Association also posted that “Medical negligence by doctors, which was earlier classified as culpable homicide (304A), has been officially decriminalized. This is a positive step. which is a step toward aligning the legal framework with emerging health care complexities.”