A doctor was charged for giving false opinion.
What is the legal liability?
Dr
K K Aggarwal, National President IMA
IPC 201: Causing disappearance of evidence of
offence, or giving false information to screen offender: Whoever, knowing or having reason to believe
that an offence has been committed, causes any evidence of the commission of
that offence to disappear, with the intention of screening the offender from
legal punishment, or with that intention gives any information respecting the
offence which he knows or believes to be false, [if a capital offence] shall,
if the offence which he knows or believes to have been committed is punishable
with death, be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term
which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine; [if
punishable with imprisonment for life] and if the offence is punishable with
imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment which may extend to ten years,
shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may
extend to three years, and shall also be liable to fine; [if punishable with
less than ten years’ imprisonment] and if the offence is punishable with imprisonment
for any term not extending to ten years, shall be punished with imprisonment of
the description provided for the offence, for a term which may extend to
one-fourth part of the longest term of the imprisonment provided for the
offence, or with fine, or with both.
This Code is important for doctors as they are
quite often requested or pressurized to change the evidence or give false
opinion to save the offender. Doctors should refrain from doing so.
IPC 202: Intentional omission to give
information of offence by person bound to inform: Whoever, knowing or having reason to believe that an
offence has been committed, intentionally omits to give any information
respecting that offence which he is legally bound to give, shall be punished
with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to six
months, or with fine, or with both.
Omission of any important information is
a crime while dealing with medicolegal cases.
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