On Thursday, the Kerala High Court's division bench directed the police to register an FIR and take cognizance of the assault on doctors and other healthcare professionals within an hour of receiving the information.

The court issued the directive in response to the increasing number of attacks on doctors and healthcare professionals. While Suo Motu was impleading the State Police Chief in a case, the bench of Justice Devan Ramachandran and Justice Kauser Edappagath issued the following order:

"...as a first step, in addition to the earlier directions, we are of the firm view that every incident of attack on a Doctor or a Healthcare Professional, including any other staff of the Hospital - be that Security or other - will have to be taken cognizance of by the Station House Officer of the concerned Police Station not later than one hour from the time on which it is reported to him.” "The discussions at the Bar today clearly show that, unless a sense of fear of law is instilled into the citizens, nothing can really change. Experience has shown us that citizens are not fearful of law, but of apprehension in case of misconduct or infraction."

The court went on to say that such recurring occurrences may occur because citizens have the impression that legal processes are slow and that they will not be held accountable.

"The fact that the Government Hospital System is overwhelmed and that the number of patients are escalating by the day, are common knowledge. Unless the Doctors and Healthcare Professionals are able to act in peace and calm, it would become impossible for the system itself to sustain."

Senior Government Pleader S. Kannan testified before the Court that the government is following all of the directions issued by the Court in previous orders, including the establishment of Police Outposts in hospitals.

However, the court stated that, in addition to the earlier directions, it is of the firm belief that every incident of attack on a Doctor or a Healthcare Professional, including any other staff of the Hospital - be it Security or otherwise - must be reported within one hour of the time it is reported.

"In the afore perspective, we hereby order that every Station House Officer concerned, to whom, or to whose Station, a complaint of atrocity or attack or harm on any Healthcare Professional – be that Doctors, Nurses, staffs, security or such other, or against the property of a Hospital- shall be recorded as a first information and a case registered within a period of one hour from the time on which such information is obtained or gathered."

Case Title: Kerala Private Hospitals Association v. Advocate Sabu P. Joseph

Citation: R.P.No.379/2021 in W.P.(C)No.10659/2021 & W.P.(C)No.11820/2021