Mumbai court acquits doc of sexual abuse charge as victim fails to give details of act
India Today
A magistrate's court in Mumbai absolved a doctor at a Mumbai hospital of sexual abuse charges levelled by a man who was admitted to the facility. The complainant had also accused the doctor of deliberately spreading Covid-19.
The Mazgaon Metropolitan magistrate’s court has acquitted a doctor accused of sexual harassment as well as negligently spreading Covid-19. The court ruled that the petitioner, a man, could not have recognised the doctor as he was wearing personal protective equipment (PPE kit). The complainant also failed to provide details of the act.
The petitioner was admitted to the ICU ward of a Mumbai hospital in May 2020 after he developed symptoms of Covid-19. He used to work as the human resource head at the same hospital.
He alleged that during his treatment, the doctor made inappropriate sexual advances on the pretext of examining him. The man then sent a written complaint to the hospital, based on which the Agripada police station registered an FIR. The offences registered against the accused were punishable under sections 377 (unnatural offence), 269 (negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) and 270 (malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) of the Indian Penal Code.
The doctor was arrested and was later let off on bail. The complainant’s statement under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code before the magistrate was recorded and a charge sheet was filed on August 31, 2020.
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The complainant even filed an application to compound the offences but his plea was rejected as the offences were not compoundable according to law. The court noted that the accused was assigned duty at the hospital as the ICU registrar on the day of the alleged incident.
The complainant told the court that the doctor came to check on him and touched him inappropriately. He was sleeping at that time and woke up with a start. He saw that the doctor was wearing PPE.
