Kollam Doctor Murder: Kerala High Court Issues Notice To State On Lawyer's Plea Seeking ₹1 Crore Compensation For Bereaved Family

The Kerala High Court on Monday issued notice to the State authorities in the plea filed by a lawyer seeking Rs. 1 Crore compensation for the bereaved family members of the 23 years old house surgeon, Dr. Vandana Das, who was brutally killed by an injured man brought to the government hospital in a police jeep, in Kottarakkara, Kollam.

The Acting Chief Justice S.V. Bhatti and Justice Basant Balaji, while tagging the case with the connected matter, observed that the reason for not dismissing the plea despite the petitioner being a stranger was that the petitioner's mother was also a doctor. 

"The circumstance that is dissuading us from dismissing your case is the petitioner's mother is also a doctor. This.. we appreciate. We will tag this with the connected matter," the Court orally observed. 

The tragic incident had occurred during the wee hours of the morning on May 10, 2023, when the house surgeon was on duty. She was stabbed multiple times by Sandeep, a school teacher, using dressing room scissors. The attacker was brought to the Kottarakkara Taluk Hospital by the police for treatment of his injuries. The plea avers that the tragedy was a result of systemic failure and yet, the Government has not announced any compensation to the bereaved family. 

The plea moved through Advocates C. Rajendran, B.K. Gopalakrishnan, and Sreevidya R.S. thus sought a direction to the State authorities to pay minimum Rs. 1 Crore compensation to the family of the deceased house surgeon; monitoring of the investigation by the Court in order to secure the ends of justice; and issuance of guidelines for providing security to the doctors, nurses, and other staff in Hospitals across the State, as well as the provision of armed forces in all casualties of all Government Hospitals across the State.

When the matter was taken up today, the Court noted that for a plea seeking compensation, locus standi is important. "The case is already taken by this Court...Compensation is not for us to see, as a society. You're completely a stranger to the case," the Court observed.

The Court asked the petitioner as to whether he had enquired about the economic standing of the family of the deceased. The petitioner's counsel responded that an enquiry had been made, however, the stand of the government in this regard had to be ascertained, and that the family of the deceased girl deserved the compensation. 

In this light, the Court decided to tag the present plea with the connected matter.  Another Division Bench comprising Justice Devan Ramachandran and Justice Kauser is presently seized of the matter to the extent of finding out lapses that led to the tragedy. It has directed the Police Department to put in place protocols for the manner in which persons in custody of the police are to be presented for medical check ups, with protection to the doctors, healthcare professionals, students, interns, house surgeons and others being prioritized.

Case Title: Adv. Manoj Rajagopal v. State of Kerala & Ors.