SC Directs Ghaziabad Hospitals to Compensate Family of Deceased Child Rape Victim
On Friday, the Supreme Court of India criticized an Ayurvedic doctor and two private hospitals in Ghaziabad for "ruthlessly" denying urgent medical care to a child rape victim from Nandgram, who later died. The bench, led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, ordered the medical providers to propose reasonable compensation for the victim's family or face severe penalties recommended by a Special Investigation Team (SIT).
The petition was filed by the deceased child's father. The bench, which also included Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, reviewed an SIT report recommending penalties for the two National Capital Region (NCR) hospitals that refused to admit the child.
During the hearing, the Ayurvedic doctor's lawyer sought leniency, stating his client lacked facilities to admit the child. The bench rejected this defence, stating that the doctor ignored the girl because she was poor and could not pay fees, adding that a sensitive practitioner would have taken her to the nearest hospital.
The two hospitals involved are Khajan Singh Manvi Healthcare, located in Saddiq Nagar, Sihani, and St Joseph (Mariam) Hospital. Lawyers representing both facilities informed the court that reasonable compensation would be paid to the family.
Sandeep Tyagi, owner of Khajan Singh Manvi Healthcare, stated that the girl was brought to his nursing home around 9 p.m. on the day of the incident. He noted that the facility lacks an ICU or blood bank, and the family left for another hospital after a couple of minutes. Lalit Goel, head of operations at St Joseph Hospital, claimed a mob of 50 to 60 people accompanied the girl and asked the family to take her to a higher centre before treatment could begin.
The assault took place on March 16 in Nandgram, where a neighbour lured the child to an open field. After being turned away by the private medical facilities, she was rushed to a district hospital in Ghaziabad, where she was declared brought dead.
The court-constituted SIT was formed due to major lapses by the local police, who initially failed to register the offence under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The Supreme Court has scheduled the next hearing for July 30 to allow the Uttar Pradesh state government and the petitioner to review the SIT report.
