IMA chief slapped with contempt notice

In her notice served on the Bhutkar on behalf of the ECF, Aroona Nafday, advocate and managing committee member of the Forum, said Bhutkar has “with deliberate and mischievous intent” distorted the essence of the Supreme Court ruling on treatment to an accident victims.

The notice reads:
“The ECF is aggrieved and deeply concerned after reading your interview in an English daily of Pune on December 18. The ECF is of the opinion that the statements made by you amount to contempt of court. You have referred to the landmark Supreme Court ruling in Parmanand Katara Vs Union of India and others. But you have with deliberate and mischievous intent distorted the essence of the said judgement. Your statements are grossly misleading and have the capacity to motivate the fraternity of doctors to refuse medical aid to accident victims in violation of the same judgement.

“You have said that as per the Supreme Court ruling doctors are expected to give first aid to accident victims. In fact, the Supreme Court has said that the victims “be given medical aid to preserve life.” The meaning of the same is very clear. “You have said that there are no clear guidelines as to what constitutes First Aid. The ECF says that it is for the doctors themselves to decide what medical aid is to be administered to an accident victim because that would differ from case to case. It is the professional who is best equipped to make the decision and not any other person.

“The hon. justices of the Supreme Court are wise enough to understand this and have left the decision to the medical fraternity. It is this very responsibility that you are shirking. The ECF is compelled to inform you that the said judgement was passed by the Supreme Court after examining all aspects of the issue including the reservations and misgivings of the medical fraternity. Inspite of the above, your statements regarding the Supreme Court judgement are misleading and mischievous and these undermine the authority of the Supreme Court as well as questions the judicial acumen of the hon. justices. They, therefore, hold the Supreme Court in contempt.”

In the reported interview, Bhutkar also is quoted having said in reply to a question `Do doctors fear harassment from the police?’: “Not just the police, the attitude of the general public too is not encouraging. There have been cases where people who have brought accident victims for treatment simply vanish without informing the doctors. The police too are not very cooperative when it comes to shifting the critically-injured to bigger hospitals. There have also been cases where those brought in as accident victims have actually sustained injuries in fights or in a mugging case and the doctors who treated them have been taken to task by the police.

Nafday said in her notice:“You have also made comments about the police being uncooperative and “taking the doctors to task”. Your comments amount to spreading disrespect about the law enforcement agencies and undermining their credibility.

“The ECF calls upon you to state in writing the specific instances wherein the police have failed to cooperate and have taken the doctors giving medical aid to task.”

“On receipt of the information from you, in writing, the ECF will take necessary action in the matter to ensure that the guilty are punished.”

She adds: “You have also stated that the Indian Medical Association (IMA) is a social organisation and that if an erring doctor is a member of your association and if he is found guilty, then you cancel his membership. This implies that you have cancelled some membership. The ECF also calls upon you to inform us in writing about the number of such cases the IMA has inquired into and the names of those whose membership has been cancelled.

“The ECF alleges that the above statement made by you is false and is made with the intention of misleading the public."

“The ECF expects a written reply to this notice within 15 days, failing which the ECF will be compelled to initiate necessary action in the matter”.