The Modi government is planning to revive the discarded draft bill ‘The Healthcare Service Personnel and Clinical Establishments (Prohibition of violence and damage to property)’ amid ongoing protests over the rape-murder of a female doctor at R G Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata.
The draft bill [pdf] was first formulated in September 2019 to address cases of violence against healthcare professionals and damage to hospitals and clinics.
The legislation was proposed in the aftermath of nationwide protests over the attack on two doctors by relatives of a patient named Mohammed Sayeed at the NRS Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata.
Provision for longer jail terms and hefty fines
“No person shall indulge in any act of violence against a healthcare personnel or cause any damage or loss to any property in a healthcare institution,” the bill stated.
It proposed a minimum of 6 months of imprisonment, which could be extended up to 5 years, for committing acts of violence against doctors. The minimum jail term was set to three years (extendable up to 10 years) for attacks leading to grievous hurt.
Besides, a provision was made to impose fines ranging between ₹50000 and ₹5 lakhs for acts of violence. In case of grievous injury to the health professional, the fines imposed on the culprit were to range from ₹2 lakhs to ₹10 lakhs.
Non-bailable offence, investigation by DSP-level officer
Most importantly, crime committed under the proposed bill ‘The Healthcare Service Personnel and Clinical Establishments (Prohibition of violence and damage to property)’ was made not only cognisable but non-bailable.
Another provision in the proposed legislation was the mandatory notification to the police by the healthcare institutions about the attack on a health professional.
“Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, upon a written request of the aggrieved healthcare service personnel, it shall be mandatory for the person in charge of a clinical establishment to inform the officer in charge of the concerned police station of the commission of an offence under this Act,” the bill emphasised.
It was also provided that such a case would be investigated by a senior cop who is not below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP).
Compensation for targeted doctors and damaged hospitals
The proposed legislation also directed convicted individuals to pay compensation to doctors and healthcare professionals targeted by them. This included paying ₹1 lakh for causing ‘hurt’ and ₹5 lakh for causing ‘grievous hurt’.
Besides, the compensation for vandalising a healthcare institution was set to twice of Fair Market Value (FMV) of the damaged property.
“If the convicted person does not pay the compensation granted under sub-section (1), the said sum shall be recovered as an arrear of land revenue under the Revenue Recovery Act, 1890,” the bill added.
Violence against healthcare professionals defined
The draft legislation defined violence as –
- Harm, injury, hurt, grievous hurt, intimidation to, or danger to the life of, a healthcare service personnel in the discharge of duty, either within the premises of a clinical establishment or otherwise;
- Obstruction or hindrance to a healthcare service personnel in discharge of duty, either within the premises of a clinical establishment or otherwise;
- Loss of or damage to any property or documents in a clinical establishment;
What happened to the bill
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Modi government promulgated the Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Act, 2020 which made violence against healthcare personnel cognizable and non-bailable offences.
In July 2022, it was reported that the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had dumped the ‘The Healthcare Service Personnel and Clinical Establishments (Prohibition of violence and damage to property)’ Bill of 2019.
The revelation was made in an RTI reply obtained by activist K.V. Babu. “It is informed that it was decided not to pursue the draft legislation further,” it was stated.
In February 2023, Union Health Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya confirmed that the government was not going forward with separate legislation for doctors and healthcare professionals.
“Thereafter it was decided not to enact a separate Legislation for prohibiting violence against doctors and other health care professionals,” he had said.
Revival of the bill
Following the rape and murder of a junior doctor at the R G Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, discussions began on the need for a new law to protect healthcare workers.
On 12th August, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) put forth a set of demands before the governemnt. One of them included the enactment of the ‘The Healthcare Service Personnel and Clinical Establishments (Prohibition of violence and damage to property)’.
It has now come to light that the Modi government is forming a panel to review the proposed legislation.
A senior bureaucrat told News18, “The new panel is likely to include representations from all stakeholders involved including doctors, medical associations and senior officials from multiple ministries,” a senior bureaucrat.
“In 2019, the panel included officials from the law ministry, ministry of Home Affairs, doctors from All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), representatives from the Indian Medical Association (IMA) and officials from health ministry. We are considering the same mix including the representatives from the young resident doctors,” the official added.
