If doctors are judged for wrong diagnosis, what about judges who give wrong verdict?, asks doctor
With relation to prosecuting doctors for wrong diagnosis, Dr.Ramesh Ganesan posed an interesting question on the Consumer Resources’ blog: whether the Judiciary too must come under the Consumer Protection Act(CPA)?
The question draws attention to the fact that different courts have given varied verdicts to the same case.
One such instance is detailed by writer Avirrok Sen in his book about the Aarushi Talwar case. Talwar was 14 years old when she was murdered in 2008. The book mentions how the judge started scripting the judgment before the trial was even concluded.
Another example is the Salman Khan hit-and-run case in which the judges of the lower and the high courts gave verdicts that were vastly different, to say the least. This, when they were both presented with the same pieces of evidence.
Responses as disparate as some of the case verdicts
Even though Dr. Ramesh Ganesan asked a question that seems logical, not all the responses are in the affirmative.
Sharad Gupta, a High Court lawyer opines that since wrong diagnosis can be life threatening but immediate loss of life etc. isn’t a problem in judiciary, doctors who make wrong diagnosis deserve strict disciplinary actions.
L.Ravichander-the designated senior counsel of the Supreme Court and High Court points out that judges often rely on substandard infrastructure and that the functional judicial system is outdated. He adds that since you balance different factors while judging, even though the judgment may be wrong, it cannot be because of negligence.
Somewhat similar is the viewpoint of the High Court lawyer Niranjan Reddy. He says that while a doctor has everything under his control for diagnosis, a judge must deal with many variables.
On the flipside is what Dr. Rajneesh Reddy- a consultant surgeon at Apollo Hospitals says. He is of the firm view that judges as well as politicians are ultimately answerable to the people, so methodology for the same should be in place.
Dr. Alla Gopala Krishna- a consultant cardiothoracic and transplant surgeon with Apollo Hospitals takes arguably the most reasonable stand. He mentions the importance of evolving a system which ensures that both medical and justice systems are monitored for the sake of the people.
With inputs from The Deccan Chronicle
Image Credits: rediff.com
Same happened in Jaya DA case.
Wrong diagnosis of doctors usually has acute body effects while wrong diagnosis of judges has more chronic mental and spiritual effects.