CUTTACK: In a significant order, the Orissa High Court has directed the chief secretary to issue a circular to all the medical centres, private clinics and medical colleges and hospitals instructing them to ensure medicine prescriptions and medicolegal reports are written in proper handwriting or in typed form by the doctors.
The direction was issued while the high court was considering a petition filed by the father of a person who died of snakebite, seeking the court’s intervention against rejection of his representation for compensation. During perusal of the case records, the court found that the doctor’s handwriting in the postmortem report was not legible. The doctor who had written it was directed to be present and explain it.
Taking strong exception to the “casual approach” of most doctors while writing postmortem report which has been badly affecting the comprehension of medico-legal documents, the single judge bench of Justice SK Panigrahi stated, “The judicial system finds it very difficult to read those letters and come to a definite conclusion.”
Justice Panigrahi observed, “The tendency of writing in a zigzag manner which cannot be read by any common man or a judicial officer has become a fashion among doctors of the state. Substantial number of doctors resort to such handwriting which cannot be read by any ordinary person.”
The court however said that it was aware of the hectic duty schedule of medical professionals and finding time to write comfortably often hindered their capacity to examine more patients within the stipulated time. However, it is generally felt that medical prescriptions and medicolegal documents are written in bad handwriting which affects the quality of appreciation of evidence in the judicial system, Justice Panigrahi observed.
“Hence, it is expected that doctors who are dealing with medicolegal issues and writing casually in very poor handwriting, are required to change their attitude and write either in capital letter or in a typed form or in good handwriting so that the judicial system does not suffer from unnecessary fatigue in reading their handwriting,” Justice Panigrahi stated.
In pursuance to the court’s earlier order, the doctor who had written the postmortem report in the snakebite death case appeared in person and explained the opinion given by him in the case.Taking it on record, Justice Panigrahi directed the petitioner to file a fresh representation before the tehsildar concerned within a period of one month and the authority to consider and dispose of the same in accordance with law within a period of one month from the date of receipt of the said application.