Patna, Dec. 21: Taking strong exception to the death of an undertrial because of delay in sanction order for treatment, the state human rights commission today awarded a compensation of Rs 2.50 lakh to the victim’s kin.
The panel’s chairman, Justice (retired) S.N. Jha, directed the home department to pay the compensation to the family of the deceased within six weeks. The department has also been asked to submit a compliance report.
The case is related to one Vijay Yadav, a resident of Kataharibagh in Chhapra. He was sent to Chhapra district jail on December 1, 2009 as an undertrial. His health was in a bad shape and was shifted to Chhapra sadar hospital. As his condition did not improve, Vijay was referred to Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH).
He was admitted to PMCH on January 27, 2010. The doctors attending to Vijay referred him to All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, and sent him back to Chhapra jail on January 29, 2010 instead of treating him in the health hub.
The state human rights commission, in its judgment, expressed concern over the “insensitive” act of the PMCH doctors for sending an ailing undertrial back to jail.
“The deceased was sent back to jail from the PMCH after two days of so-called treatment between January 27, 2010 and January 29, 2010. If the ailment was so serious as to warrant specialised treatment in the AIIMS, there was absolutely no justification in sending the undertrial back to jail. Sending the deceased back to the jail was clearly an insensitive act,” reads the judgment.
As if the “insensitivity” of PMCH doctors was not enough, Vijay had to face the sluggish pace of work of the health department also.
Chhapra jail superintendent wrote a letter on February 4, 2010 to the health secretary, seeking permission of the state-level medical board for treatment of the ailing prisoner outside the state. As he did not get any reply, he sent a reminder on February 18. Still, there was no reply.
As the condition of Vijay deteriorated, he was admitted to the jail hospital on the day the reminder was sent. Finally, IG (prisons) sent a formal request to the health department on March 3, 2010. The director-in-chief of the health services on March 9, 2010 directed to produce the undertrial before the medical board on March 11. The prisoner could not be produced before the medical board as his condition worsened. He died on March 12.
