What new criminal code says on punishing medical practitioners for negligence, accidental death

The BNS increased the imprisonment term for causing accidental death from 2 years to a maximum of 5 years.

Docs thank Govt, but in BNS they can still face criminal cases

An additional clause has been introduced for incidents where the person at fault flees or fails to report the incident for which BNS allows imprisonment of up to 10 years.

While many doctors thanked the government for “decriminalising” medical negligence cases, all that the amendment to the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Wednesday (December 20) did was keep the punishment for medical practitioners the same as it was under the Indian Penal Code.

The BNS increased the imprisonment term for causing accidental death from 2 years to a maximum of 5 years. An additional clause has been introduced for incidents where the person at fault flees or fails to report the incident for which BNS allows imprisonment of up to 10 years.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said in Parliament Wednesday that the provisions for increased punishment will reduce cases of hit and run. He, however, added that as the clause is also used for cases of medical negligence, an amendment would be moved to exempt doctors from it.

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As per the amendment, “If such act is done by a registered medical practitioner while performing medical procedure, he shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to 2 years, and shall also be liable to fine.”

This means criminal cases can still be lodged for cases of deaths due to medical negligence, but the maximum imprisonment will be less than that of other cases such as road accidents.

Explained | Indian Penal Code to Nyaya Sanhita: What’s new, what is out, what changes

The maximum imprisonment for doctors with this amendment will remain the same as what it was under IPC section 304A — up to 2 years of imprisonment or fine or both.

President of Indian Medical Association Dr Sharad Agarwal said: “It is heartening to see the government has accepted the changes we suggested. We had requested medical negligence not be clubbed with other accidental deaths… And that the punishment should not be as harsh. So, even though the punishment for other types of deaths caused by negligence is five years, for medical negligence it remains two.”

Anonna Dutt

Anonna Dutt is a Principal Correspondent who writes primarily on health at the Indian Express. She reports on myriad topics ranging from the growing burden of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and hypertension to the problems with pervasive infectious conditions. She reported on the government’s management of the Covid-19 pandemic and closely followed the vaccination programme. Her stories have resulted in the city government investing in high-end tests for the poor and acknowledging errors in their official reports. Dutt also takes a keen interest in the country’s space programme and has written on key missions like Chandrayaan 2 and 3, Aditya L1, and Gaganyaan. She was among the first batch of eleven media fellows with RBM Partnership to End Malaria. She was also selected to participate in the short-term programme on early childhood reporting at Columbia University’s Dart Centre. Dutt has a Bachelor’s Degree from the Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Pune and a PG Diploma from the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai. She started her reporting career with the Hindustan Times. When not at work, she tries to appease the Duolingo owl with her French skills and sometimes takes to the dance floor. ... Read More