अपघात नेहमीच अचानक आणि न ठरवता होतात. ठरवून घडवला तर घातपात होतो. आणि अपघात मनुष्याच्या निष्काळजीपणामुळे अथवा यंत्रांच्या बिघाडामुळे होतात. परंतु अपघात घडल्यानंतर तो कोणाच्या निष्काळजीपणामुळे झाला, कोण चूक, कोण बरोबर हे ठरविण्यापेक्षाही त्या अपघातात सापडलेल्या अभागी जीवाला मदत पोहोचवणे हे अधिक गरजेचे असते.
साधा रस्त्यावरचा अपघात घेतला तरी त्यात लोक जखमीच्या मदतीला जायला, त्याला रुग्णालयात न्यायला घाबरतात. ते बरेचदा कचरतात याचं कारण म्हणजे पुढील चौकशीचा ससेमिरा. म्हणून प्रत्यक्ष मदत करणारे फार कमी आणि बघ्यांची मात्र हीss गर्दी असेच दृश्य आढळते. रुग्णालयात नेल्यानंतरसुद्धा तिथे उपचार सुरु होण्याआधी औपचारिक चौकश्या, कागदपत्र बनविणे, बरोबर कोणी आहे का, नातेवाईक कोण आहेत, पोलिसांना कळवले का, त्यांचा कागद आणला का अशा सर्व यक्षप्रश्नांना मदतीसाठी सरसावलेल्या व्यक्तींना सामोरे जावे लागते. आणि या कटकटीमुळेच मनात इच्छा असूनही लोक मदतीला जात नाहीत. या सर्वाचा परिणाम मात्र त्या रुग्णाला सहन करावा लागतो. कधीकधी तर रुग्णाचे प्राणोत्क्रमणही होण्याची शक्यता असते.
हे सर्व कायदा, कायद्याची भीती, कोर्टकचेरी यामुळे होत असल्याचे न्यायपालिकेच्या लक्षात आले. ही परिस्थिती अशीच राहणे कोणाच्याच हिताचे नाही आणि ती बदलायला हवी हे लक्षात घेऊन न्यायपालिकेने १९८९ साली एक महत्वपूर्ण निकाल दिला, जो अजूनही प्रसिद्धीअभावी जनसामान्यांपर्यंत पोहोचलेला नाही. प्रस्तुत निकालाची पार्श्वभूमी व त्यातील काही अंश येथे उधृत करत आहे.
पंडित परमानंद कटारा यांनी १९८८ साली एक रीट याचिका सर्वोच्च न्यायालयात दाखल केली. (Criminal Writ Petition no. 270 of 1988). सर्वोच्च न्यायालयाने दि. २८.८.१९८९ रोजी परमानंद कटारा विरुद्ध भारत संघराज्य (Pt. Parmanand Katara v/s Union of India) या निकालाद्वारे आपले विचार प्रकट केले आहेत. न्या. रंगनाथ मिश्रा आणि न्या. जी. एल. ओझा यांनी प्रस्तुत निकालपत्र दिले आहे. (CITATION: 1989 AIR 2039, 1989 SCR (3) 997, 1989 SCC (4) 286, JT 1989 (3) 496, 1989 SCALE (2)380)
स्कूटरवरून जाणाऱ्या एका व्यक्तीला चारचाकी गाडीने उडवले आणि ती गाडी पुढे निघून गेली. एका सहृदय माणसाला रक्ताच्या थारोळ्यात पडलेल्या त्या स्कूटरचालकाला मदत करावीशी वाटली आणि तो त्याला घेऊन जवळच्या रुग्णालयात गेला; परंतु तिथे त्याला दुसऱ्या एका रुग्णालयाचे नाव सुचविण्यात आले आणि सांगण्यात आले की, ‘रुग्णाला घेऊन तिथेच जावे लागेल, कारण त्या रुग्णालयात न्याय-वैद्यक बाबी पहिल्या जातात.’(medico-legal cases). ते दुसरे रुग्णालय तिथून २० किमी अंतरावर होते. मदत करणाऱ्या व्यक्तिने लगेच तिथपर्यंत पोहोचण्याचा प्रयत्न केला; परंतु दुर्दैवाने वाटेतच त्या अपघातग्रस्त स्कूटरचालकाचे जखमांमुळे निधन झाले. प्रस्तुत घटनेची बातमी तत्कालीन ‘हिंदुस्तान टाईम्स’ मध्ये छापून आली. त्याचे शीर्षकच होते ‘Law helps the injured to die’. आणि या बातमीच्या आधारेच पंडित परमानंद कटारा यांनी याचिका दाखल केली.
न्यायालयाने या घटनेची गंभीर नोंद घेत भविष्यात असे प्रकार टाळण्यासाठी आपल्या निकालात निरीक्षणे नोंदवून निर्देश दिले. या निकालपत्राचे महत्व यामुळेच वाढते की, त्यात सर्वोच्च न्यायालयाने अशा घटनांमध्ये वैद्यकीय सेवा पुरविणाऱ्या संस्था/व्यक्ती यांची भूमिका काय असावी हे स्पष्ट केले आहे.
Per Ranganath Mishra J. “It should be the duty of a doctor in each and every casualty department of the hospital to attend such person first and thereafter take care of the formalities under the Criminal Procedure Code. The life of a person is far more important than the legal formalities. In view of this, the deponent feels that it is in the interest of general human life and welfare that the Government should immediately make such provisions in law and amendments in the existing laws, if required, so that immediate medical relief and care to injured persons and/or serious patients are available without any delay and without waiting for legal formalities to be completed in the presence of the police officers. The doctor attending such patients should be indemnified under law from any action by the Government/police authorities/any person for not waiting for legal formalities before giving relief as a doctor would be doing his professional duty; for which he has taken oath as medical practitioner.”
Per G. L. Oza J. Some apprehensions were expressed because of some misunderstanding about the law of procedure and the police regulations and the priorities in such situations. On the basis of the affidavit filed by the Union of India and considering the matter it is clear that there is no legal impediment for a medical professional when he is called upon or requested to attend to an injured person needing his medical assistance immediately. There is also no doubt that the effort to save the person should be the top priority not only of the medical professional but even of the police or any other citizen who happens to be connected with the matter or who happens to notice such an incident or a situation. But on behalf of the medical profession there is one more apprehension which sometimes prevents a medical professional in spite of his desire to help the person, as he apprehends that he will be witness and may have to face the police interrogation which sometimes may need going to the police station repeatedly and waiting and also to be a witness in a court of law where also he apprehends that he may have to go on number of days and may have to wait for a long time and may have to face sometimes long unnecessary cross-examination which sometimes may even be humiliating for a man in the medical profession and in our opinion it is this apprehension which prevents a medical professional who is not entrusted with the duty of handling medico-legal cases to do the needful, he always tries to avoid and even if approached directs the person concerned to go to a State hospital and particularly to the person who is in charge of the medico-legal cases. We there- fore have no hesitation in assuring the persons in the medical profession that these apprehensions, even if have some foundation, should not prevent them from discharging their duty as a medical professional to save a human life and to do all that is necessary but at the same time. We hope and trust that with this expectation from the members of the medical profession, the policy, the members of the legal profession, our law courts and everyone concerned will also keep in mind that a man in the medical profession should not be unnecessarily harassed for purposes of inter- rogation or for any other formality and should not be dragged during investigations at the police station and it should be avoided as far as possible. We also hope and trust that our law courts will not summon a medical professional to give evidence unless the evidence is necessary and even if he is summoned, attempt should be made to see that the men in this profession are not made to wait and waste time unnecessarily and it is known that our law courts always have respect for the men in the medical profession and they are called to give evidence when necessary and attempts are made so that they may not have to wait for long. We have no hesitation in saying that it is expected of the members of the legal profession which is the other honourable profession to honour the persons in the medical profession and see that they are not called to give evidence so long as it is not necessary. It is also expected that where the facts are so clear it is expected that necessary harassment of the members of the medical profession either by way of requests for adjournments or by cross examination should be avoided so that the apprehension that the men in the medical profession have which prevents them from discharging their duty to a suffering person who needs their assistance utmost, is removed and a citizen needing the assistance of a man in the medical profession receives it.
We would also like to mention that whenever on such occasions a man of the medical profession is approached and if he finds that whatever assistance he could give is not sufficient really to save the life of the person but some better assistance is necessary-it is also the duty of the man in the medical profession so approached to render all the help which he could and also see that the person reaches the proper expert as early as possible.
तेव्हा या निकालाची पुरेशी प्रसिद्धी करण्याचे निर्देशही निकालपत्रातच दिले आहेत; परंतु आजही डॉक्टर्स, परिचारिका, वैद्यकीय सेवा पुरविणाऱ्या संस्था, विशेषतः अपघात विभाग, सामान्य जनता, समाजसेवी संस्था, रुग्णमित्र, पोलीस, वकील अशांना याची माहिती नाही. या जनजागृतीतून कित्येक जीव वाचू शकतात. म्हणूनच ही भूमिका अधिकाधिक जणांपर्यंत पोहोचेल हे पण पाहिले पाहिजे.
