Medical Services and Consumer Justice in India:Role of Judiciary for Adopting a Balanced Approach”

Mushtaq Ahmad Dar:“Medical Services and Consumer Justice in India:Role of Judiciary for Adopting a Balanced Approach”       I J M T P :7(1-2) January-December 2015.; pp;1-16  Online available:  To    view full article  click the following link:  http://docplayer.net/12327336-Medical-services-and-consumer-justice-in-india-role-of-judiciary-for-adopting-a-balanced-approach.html                MEDICAL SERVICES AND CONSUMER JUSTICE IN INDIA:              ROLE OF JUDICIARY FOR ADOPTINGA BALANCED APPROACH                                                              Mushtaq Ahmad Dar Abstract:  The Consumer Protection Act is a milestone in the history of social welfare legislations for the protection of rights of consumers in India. The Act has been hailed as a Magna Carta for the benefit of consumers. This is indeed a very unique and highly progressive piece of social welfare legislation. It is applicable to all kinds of services and negligent doctors cannot claim immunity for being members of a noble profession. There is no justification in a welfare state to exonerate a doctor or a medical practitioner from liability from negligence while serving in a government hospital or nursing home simply on the ground that his salary is being paid by the government and the user of such services pays no charges. What is important is not the consideration, but the way of conducting and discharging duties in such a manner as would be expected from a prudent contemporary in a similar situation having access to similar facilities and in know of the principles of such a practice in general. If the medical professional fails to keep up to these standards in a particular case, it would be a case of negligence entailing liability of the professional person under civil and criminal laws. In this article an attempt has been made to discuss the applicability of Consumer Protection Act to medical professionals working in government and private hospitals, importance of consideration in such contracts and the liability under criminal law. The role of consumer disputes redressal agencies, High courts and the Supreme Court for the effective implementation of this social welfare legislation for protection of consumers’ interest vis-a-vis medical professionals would also be evaluated. Why not to safeguard the interests of both patients as well as doctors? Keywords: Medical Services, Consumer Protection Act, Fee and Tax, Negligence, Private & Govt. Hospitals, Judicial Approach. I J M T P : 7(1-2) January-December 2015,                                                            1