8-year old Mariam Kouser's ordeal implies that the Indian judiciary has failed us, yet again!

In India, that is how it has been across years and boundaries. Clearly, 8-year old Marian Kouser's case is no exception. What was supposed to be a minor elbow injury landed her up in a coma. 5 years down the line, she is not more than a vegetable. Her parents, mother Baseera and father Mudassir Pasha are tired of the long battle that they have fought with the doctors of the Sanjay Gandhi Trauma Orthopaedic Hospital in Jayanagar. 

Without money and with no means to pitch their story before the ministers, Mariam's parents have lost the second battle for justice too.

The turn of events

In 2013 December, the chirpy and the ever jolly Mariam hurt her elbow. She was immediately rushed to the Sanjay Gandhi hospital. She was recommended a surgery and that was the last time her parents saw her smile or talk. Things changed immediately after the surgery. She was in coma for 3 months and then turned into a vegetable. Since then, the little girl has been battling excruciating pain all alone. But the worst part is, her parents have to watch her go through it.

Pasha, an AC mechanic could not afford to attend the hearings in court after he filed a complaint of medical negligence. The case was closed without any second thoughts. That was the end of justice. No amount of knocking for government help worked and the family is now living in ignominy.

Hypoxia and little Mariam

Doctors said that Mariam suffered Hypoxia, which led to this condition. Now, what exactly is Hypoxia? It is a pathological condition in which the body or a region of the body is deprived of an adequate oxygen supply. Interestingly, the medical conditions leading to the state do not match with Mariam. She just had an injury and the conditions leading to the pathological state entails imminent damage to the lungs, which can lead to wheezing, breathlessness, asthma attack, sweating, rapid breathing. But Mariam did not encounter any of it.

Of course, one does not know what happened at the operation table. But, the doctors who diagnosed Mariam later are not able to decipher what exactly went wrong and how she encountered the problem.

Medical negligence and loopholes

If we are to consider the medical negligence in her case, Adhrit Foundation has a better explanation. Given the track record of medical history in India, 1 in 10 patients is harmed while receiving hospital care. Close to 50% of the equipment used in hospitals in India are unusable or unsterilised. Lack of skills is another thing that has eaten the healthcare sector like termites. Over 100 million people require surgical treatment every year. Problems associated with surgical safety in developed countries account for half of the avoidable adverse events that result in death or disability.

The Legal framework

According to the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) that deals with medical negligence under various sections. As per the rules if death is caused by the doctor while performing a medical activity, then on the lodging of FIR the doctor shall be arrested under Section 304A and be punished with a maximum imprisonment of two years, with or without fine. But if no death occurs, but hurt or grievous hurt is caused then the doctor shall be prosecuted under Sections 337 and 338 of IPC.

In this purview, the questions that arise in Mariam's case is why were the doctors not arrested in the first place, assuming that they have not been since there are no reports claiming so. And even if they have been, how was it that they have been released, just on the basis of the fact that Mariam's poor father could not afford to attend the hearings?

What happened after that? It is hard to digest the fact that the case was just hushed up because the battle was between two unequals, the powerful and the powerless. Has the Indian judiciary failed, yet again, to stand by the poor and the needy? Does that mean that the poor in the country have their fates only in the hands of God or perhaps destiny?

• karnataka
• south