- Supreme Court condemned two Ghaziabad hospitals for denying timely treatment to a 4-year-old rape victim
- CJI Surya Kant accused hospitals of ignoring the child due to her poverty and lack of fees
- Hospitals ordered to make voluntary donations to victim’s family
The Supreme Court on Friday came down heavily on two private hospitals and their doctors in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad for allegedly failing to provide timely treatment to a 4-year-old rape victim, leading to her death.
"You ignored her because she was poor," a bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant told the hospitals.
An angry court also told the hospital management to "drop 'doctors' from your name" as they had failed to do their duty.
The case pertains to the rape and murder of a four-year-old girl in Ghaziabad on March 16.
The child was allegedly lured by a neighbour from her home on the pretext of buying chocolates.
The family began looking for her after she did not return home. She was later found unconscious and covered in blood nearby.
The desperate family took her to two private hospitals, which allegedly denied admission.
She was then taken to a Ghaziabad district hospital, where doctors declared her dead.
The father had claimed that the girl was alive for two hours after she was found and that timely treatment could have saved her life.
A Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) found substance in his allegations that the hospitals did not provide timely care.
"You have no business of writing 'doctor' with your name if you don't perform your duty," an angry CJI told the hospital doctors.
"If you had sensitivity, you would have gone with the child to another hospital if you didn't have the facility. You ignored her because she was poor. Couldn't afford your fee," the Chief Justice said.
As a penalty, the Court asked the hospitals to make voluntary donations to the victim's family, warning that failure to comply would attract costs.
In the last hearing, the Chief Justice had stressed that "there is something that goes far beyond compensation that needs fixing - accountability."
The role of the police has also come under the top court's scanner in this case.
The girl's family reported the matter to the local police immediately after the incident, but instead of taking cognisance, they were allegedly physically assaulted.
However, after an uproar, an FIR was filed a day later on March 17, and the accused was arrested on March 18.
The FIR, however, made no mention of POCSO or Section 376 (punishment for rape).
In April, the Supreme Court had pulled up Ghaziabad authorities over their "indifference" and "insensitivity" in the case and had summoned the police commissioner and the investigating officer with case records.
"The most shocking part of the alleged offence is the complete indifference and insensitive approach by two private hospitals, as well as the local police," the top court said on Friday.
