LUCKNOW: The Lucknow Bench of Allahabad High Court has imposed a penalty of `5,000 on two doctors in two separate cases for their bad handwriting while writing the medico-legal reports in criminal cases. In both the criminal cases that came up for hearing last week, the injury reports of the victims issued by hospitals in Sitapur and Gonda were not readable because of poor handwriting of the doctors who had issued them.
Considering it an obstruction in court work, a Division Bench comprising Justices Ajay Lamba and Sanjay Harkauli summoned both the doctors — Dr P K Goel, currently serving in the Sitapur district hospital and Dr T P Jaiswal, working at the Gonda hospital — and admonished them.
It asked them to deposit Rs 5,000 each at the library of Oudh Bar Association within three weeks or the amount would be deducted from their salaries.
The Bench observed that it would be impossible for the court to summon doctors in each and every case for reading their handwriting on the medical reports.
Taking the doctors to task, the judges said, “The directions of the court and the circular issued by the Director General, Medical and Health, Uttar Pradesh, have been ignored with impunity.”