Submitting False Injury Report Highly Despicable, Dereliction Of Duty: Rajasthan HC Affirms Compulsory Retirement Of Medical Officer
Rajasthan High Court refused to grant relief to the medical officer who had committed dereliction of duty by submitting a factually wrong injury report in a case. Frowning upon the conduct as highly despicable, the Court observed that for such conduct, compulsory retirement was not a disproportionate punishment warranting any interference of the Court. It was held:
“It is apparent that the petitioner has submitted false report and committed dereliction in discharge of his duty. None can undermine the importance of true and correct medico-legal report in the injury cases which has great role in just and fair disposal of the cases. Such a conduct by the Medical Officer is highly despicable as it causes interference with the administration of justice.”
The bench of Justice Mahendra Kumar Goyal was hearing a petition filed by a medical officer who was served with a charge sheet under the Rajasthan Civil Services (Classification, Control & Appeal) Rules, 1958 (“the Rules”) alleging that he furnished wrong facts in an injury report prepared upon a medical examination. The departmental inquiry culminated in finding him guilty and the disciplinary authority punished him with compulsory retirement and proportionate pension. The petition was filed praying for modification of punishment to a lighter one.
The counsel for the petitioner argued that the petitioner had measured the dimension of injuries through naked eyes which might have resulted in some variation. And thus, compulsory retirement was a highly disproportionate punishment.
The Court rejected this argument and highlighted the perused material on record that had revealed a great variance in the injury report prepared by the petitioner and the medical report prepared by the medical board. It was held:
“While, the petitioner has found the injury No.1, a sharp edged injury on shoulder of the injured to be 3 centimeter in length, the Medical Board found the same to be four and a half inch, i.e., 11.25 centimeter in length. Similarly, while, the petitioner found the injury No.2, another sharp edged injury on head of the injured of 2 centimeter, the Medical Board found it to be 1.25 inch, i.e., 3.75 centimeter in length.”
In this background, the Court held that it was apparent that the petitioner had submitted a false injury report which was termed as despicable by the Court. The Court further observed that the importance of a true medico-legal report could not be undermined since it has huge importance in the just and fair disposal of cases. Hence, such dereliction of duty was opined as interference with the administration of justice by the petitioner.
Accordingly, the Court dismissed the petition ruling that the punishment awarded to the petitioner was not disproportionate.
Title: Dr. K C Chaudhary v State of Rajasthan & Ors.
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Raj) 161