The Supreme Court on Friday came down heavily on doctors of a private hospital for their alleged failure to provide immediate medical assistance to a four-year-old girl who later died after being subjected to a brutal sexual assault in Uttar Pradesh, observing that the absence of emergency facilities could not justify a complete failure to discharge basic medical duties.
At the outset, Senior Advocate N Hariharan informed the Court that although a supplementary chargesheet had been filed following the SIT investigation, none of the parties had been furnished with a copy of the SIT report. The Bench observed that the report had been submitted before the Court but had not been circulated, clarifying that the proceedings were not intended to be adversarial and the concerned parties would have an opportunity to respond after receiving the report.
The Bench then questioned the conduct of a doctor, who stated that he was a BMS doctor and that the hospital lacked ICU and emergency facilities, adding that the child had been referred to another hospital within minutes. The Bench rejected the explanation, observing that the absence of infrastructure did not absolve a medical professional of the duty to provide immediate assistance to an injured patient.
“
“You can’t be absolved like this. You may be any doctor. You failed to perform your duties. Crime is brought before you and you are so merciless that you don’t even provide primary aid. If you had some element of sensitivity, you should have… ‘I don’t have the facility, I will accompany the child, we’ll take you there.’… A child, look at the kind of injuries that the child has. And brought in, even people just ignore him. Only because he is a poor child… We never expected such kind of people are made in the society.”
The Court also indicated that it was considering the imposition of an appropriate monetary penalty while directing the parties to obtain instructions. The matter was directed to be listed on July 30, 2026.
Background of the Case
The case stems from the alleged rape and murder of a four-year-old girl in Ghaziabad in March 2026. According to the victim’s father, the child was taken by a neighbour on the pretext of buying chocolates, was later found grievously injured in a field, and was allegedly denied timely treatment by private hospitals before being shifted to a government hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries.
The writ petition was filed by the victim’s father alleging not only a barbaric sexual assault by a neighbour but also a botched investigation, police apathy and negligence on the part of two private hospitals where the child was initially taken for treatment. The Supreme Court had earlier constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by senior women police officers to conduct a further investigation, specifically directing it to examine the role of the private hospitals. It had also stayed the trial until the SIT filed its supplementary report.
Read at: SC Orders SIT To Examine Probe Lapses In Ghaziabad Child Rape & Murder Case; Stays Trial