Bombay HC directs Maha Health Secy, Thane CP to initiate legal action against doc for"negligence'' in PM

MUMBAI: Bombay high court directed Secretary, Health, Government of Maharashtra as well as Commissioner of Police Thane to initiate appropriate legal action against a doctor for alleged “gross negligence and illegality’’ in conducting a postmortem of one Mohan Bhoir in a 2020 murder case.
Justice Prithviraj Chavan on March 22 passed the order directing the State health secretary to place within four weeks a preliminary report.
One Jaywant Bhoir charged with murder was seeking bail from the HC. Last August the HC passed an order pursuant to which the district civil surgeon of district hol[ital Thane submitted a report to the Murbad police on November 28, 2023. The civil surgeon had set up a panel to give an opinion on what exactly led to the death. Last Sept a meeting led by the medical officer Dr Phad examined all documents including the inquest and spot panchanama.
On July 12, 2020 Dr Phad (the HC order doesn’t mention the first name) had conducted a PM at a Murbad rural hospital, a government hospital but submitted his opinion on his private letter head, said the HC. The viscera was preserved to be forwarded to the Thane Forensic Science Lab but Dr Phad did not forward brain samples nor fill up the paperwork properly, said the HC finding “contradictions in the findings’’ of the PM report. The lab said the PM was done on July 16 and the PM report mentions injuries that don’t match what the inquest panchnama said, the HC noted in its order, adjourning the matter to April 23.