August 11, 2024
A general court martial of the Army has found a doctor not guilty of allegations of having outraged the modesty of a Major’s wife while conducting a medical examination. It however, held the doctor guilty of not ensuring the presence of a nurse or a woman attendant while conducting the examination.
The doctor, a Lt Colonel of Army Medical Corps (AMC), has been awarded the punishment of ‘severe reprimand’ and to forfeit one and half years of service for the purpose of service pension.
The court martial of the doctor, posted as a medical specialist at Military Hospital, Ahmednagar in Maharashtra, took place at the Mechanised Infantry Centre and School, Ahmednagar.
Counsel for the doctor, Anand Kumar said he pleaded innocence and contended that acted professionally in examining the patient who complained of chest pains.
The doctor faced court martial on two charges. The first allegation was that he used criminal force on the woman while conducting the physical examination of her chest at the hospital on June 10, 2022, and touched her inappropriately thereby intending to outrage her modesty.
The second charge was that the doctor omitted to ensure the presence of a nurse or a woman attendant in compliance of Para 51 of Defence Services Regulations (Regulations for the Medical Services of the Armed Forces – 2010) while conducting the examination.
As per the regulations, when the examination of a woman patient is carried out it is essential to have an attendant present.
The defence counsel had brought to the notice of the court martial that Commanding Officer of the accused, after due deliberation, had earlier dropped the first and second charge as contained in the tentative charge sheet dated May 4, 2023. The defence counsel contended that the Commanding Officer of the accused at the time was satisfied that the accused was “not guilty” of digressing from the primary line of checkup, intending thereby to outrage her modesty.
It was also alleged during the trial that the ‘attachment’ of the accused to Mechanised Infantry Centre and School was illegal, motivated and without due application of mind as the accused ought not have been attached to the same unit to which the husband of woman was earlier posted to avoid bias.