MEDICAL MALPRACTICE IN GOVERNMENT HOSPITALS IN INDIA: BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN LEGAL PROTECTIONS AND ACCOUNTABILITY

AUTHOR – VASUNDHRA^* AND SACHIN KUMAR^**

* STUDENT AT LAW COLLEGE DEHRADUN, UTTARANCHAL UNIVERSITY

** ASSISTANT PROFESSOR AT LAW COLLEGE DEHRADUN, UTTARANCHAL UNIVERSITY

BEST CITATION – VASUNDHRA AND SACHIN KUMAR, MEDICAL MALPRACTICE IN GOVERNMENT HOSPITALS IN INDIA: BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN LEGAL PROTECTIONS AND ACCOUNTABILITY, INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 5 (7) OF 2025, PG. 45-55, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344.

ABSTRACT

This study appraises the malady that ails the Indian nation under its governmental hospitals-the cumulative systematic flaws barred by reason of the medical malpractice concept. It has brought up the legal and institutional divide between safeguards for public healthcare providers and liability to patients. These very government hospitals are the ones that uphold the health care system of India, especially for the economically weaker sections of society, and they have been constantly buffeted by challenges of overcrowding, understaffing, crumbling facilities, etc. The problem exists in the laws-in spite of-constitution (and exceptions in law to tort action), the Consumer Protection Act, and various criminal laws-all of which offer avenues for redress but are lethargic in justice owing to procedural bottlenecks with almost clause-like protectionism accorded by Section 218 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita. It provides for prosecution only upon prior sanction of the government for a public servant. Judgment analysis takes landmark cases such as Jacob Mathew v. State of Punjab to reflect the judiciary’s view in placing culpability upon an actor of causing harm and proving an insurmountable evidentiary threshold in those cases. These proceedings are especially debilitating to victims: from statutory immunities through long procedural delays and lack of legal awareness within the community, extending to institutional opacity. They coalesce to provide negligence with protection from scrutiny. The studies propose sweeping reforms with amendments to statutory immunities, broaden the scope for no-fault compensation schemes, make mandatory reporting of adverse events, and undertake infrastructure and mediation mechanisms. This raises other questions regarding the statutory protections and institutional weaknesses that lead to an urgent need for a more balanced legal regime in sustaining patient rights and enabling public healthcare practitioners. Redressing these gaps is a matter that urgently warrants serious consideration if the constitutional promise of the right to health under Article 21 is to be fulfilled.Keywords: Medical negligence, Government hospitals, Public healthcare accountability, Section 218 BNSS, Consumer Protection Act, Article 21, Judicial precedents, Health law reform