Emedinews: Insights on Medicolegal issues - A medicolegal case must be informed to the nearest police

A doctor not informing the police is a criminal offence under IPC Sections 177 and 201 

A medicolegal report is prepared for the purpose of litigation, imminent or prospective, by the treating doctor. The responsibility to label any case as a medicolegal case (MLC) rests solely with the attending medical practitioner in absence of police or any other legal references. According to the Hon’ble Supreme Court, whenever any MLC comes to the hospital, the government doctor on duty or private doctor attending the case should start the treatment of the patient and if he thinks that the case needs to be reported to the police, he should do so without fail and without any justified delay to the police on duty, giving the name, age, sex of the patient and the place of occurrence of the incident. It will be the duty of the said Constable/duty officer of police station to inform the nearest concerned police station/ higher police functionaries for further action.  

• Section 177 IPC states that giving false information is punishable criminal offence and if proved the doctor may be punished up to six months.
• Section 201 IPC deals with causing disappearance of evidence of offence or giving false information to screen the offender. This is a graver offence and imprisonment depends on the gravity of case.

 (Contributed by Dr Sudhir Gupta)