Draft bill to curb violence against doctors proposes jail term of upto 10 years, fine of upto Rs 10 lakh

NEW DELHI: In an attempt to protect on-duty doctors and healthcare professionals against violence, the government has proposed a new law seeking to treat such violence as cognisable and non-bailable offence, attracting a jail term of upto 10 years and a penalty of upto Rs 10 lakh.
The provisions are part of the draft legislation - Healthcare Service Personnel and Clinical Establishments (Prohibition of violence and damage to property) Bill, 2019 – put forth by the health ministry on Monday inviting public comments within 30 days.
The draft bill linked to the Indian Penal Code says, “Whoever, while committing violence as referred to in sub-section (1), causes grievous hurt as defined in section 320 of the Indian Penal Code to any healthcare service personnel, shall, upon conviction, be punished with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than three years, but which may extend to ten years, and with fine, which shall not be less than two lakh rupees, but which may extend to ten lakh rupees.”
Apart from violence against healthcare professionals, the draft bill also seeks to address the issue of damage of property of clinical establishments.
The draft legislation suggests apart from the punishment provided for violence, the convicted person shall be liable to pay, by way of compensation, an amount which is twice the amount of fair market value of the damaged property or the loss caused, as may be determined by the court.
TOI had reported on July 27 that an inter-ministerial committee has framed a draft law to protect doctors against violence and that the draft bill is under active consideration of the health ministry.
Estimates by the Indian Medical Association shows over 75% of doctors across the country face at least some form of violence.
“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 draft bill said.
The draft bill also proposes to make it mandatory for the person in charge of a clinical establishment to inform the officer in charge of the concerned police station following a written request of the aggrieved healthcare service personnel.
Though similar laws are in place in around 21 states, a uniform central law is expected to ensure stringent enforcement which is currently missing.
Though a central law to protect on-duty doctors and clinical establishments has been under government’s consideration for a few years, recent incidents of violence in Kolkata and various other parts of the country had put immense pressure on the government to immediately draft the bill to ensure safety of healthcare professionals.