Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, Debabrata Saikia, has moved the Assam Human Rights Commission seeking a human rights case against the chief minister, the health minister and the health department in connection with the death of a four-day-old child at the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital on August 17 due to alleged negligence.
In his five-page representation to the AHRC on Tuesday, Saikia said the incident prima facie could be attributed “to overcrowding (of the phototherapy bed from which the baby fell and died), staff shortages, and abject failure in duty of care in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)” — all of which constituted a “blatant violation of fundamental human rights enshrined in the Constitution of India”.
The state government has instituted an inquiry into the incident, while police have arrested the nurse in charge of the NICU for “culpable homicide” in connection with the death of the newborn.
To justify his demand, Saikia listed instances of infant deaths from 2017 to 2025 in both government and private hospitals. Calling for “strict judicial intervention” by the AHRC, his petition stated: “The persistent recurrence of medical negligence in Assam’s public healthcare facilities, coupled with the state’s failure to effect meaningful reforms, necessitates immediate and robust intervention by the Commission pursuant to the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993.”
His plea further flagged the commission’s statutory authority to initiate suo motu inquiries, recommend prosecutions and direct compensatory relief — “as demonstrated in its 2019 order mandating ₹5 lakh compensation for medical negligence at Ambari Urban Health Centre — which must be invoked to curb
impunity and uphold fundamental rights.”
“The egregious circumstances surrounding the death of a newborn at GMCH, attributable to systemic lapses such as overcrowding and inadequate supervision, underscore the urgency of such action,” Saikia’s plea said.
Besides seeking suo motu registration of a human rights case against the health minister and the department of health for violating Article 21 (right to life and personal liberty) and the chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma “for committing negligence,” Saikia sought constitution of a committee of independent experts to probe the incident and submit a time-bound report on systemic failures in Assam’s hospitals, including staffing and infrastructure deficiencies.
He also called for fixing of “liability” on the chief minister and the health department “for irresponsible statements causing emotional distress and for systemic lapses, recommending disciplinary action.”
His petition demanded ₹10 lakh compensation for the parents of the deceased infant, besides “state protection, including security and legal aid, under whistleblower laws” for the parents, who he claimed were facing threats.