Negligence of Nurse & Criminal Liability of Off-Duty Doctor
Judgment dated 25.5.2026 of the Supreme Court of India in Supriya Kumari M.C. vs. State of Kerala and others 2026 INSC 537
The patient was admitted in the hospital at Kannur for piles surgery. The appellant is the senior anesthetist.
After the surgery in the morning, the patient was shifted to the ward in the evening.
The appellant completed the shift at 5 pm and left the hospital after ensuring that the patient was stable.
When emergency arose at 8 pm, the doctors and on duty anesthesiologist were available in the hospital. However, it is said that the appellant was contacted and on his advice the Nurse had given the pain killer.
However, the health started deteriorating and died.
In the post-mortem, it was found that the deceased’s left coronary had 80% blockage and the cause of death was “due to acute coronary insufficiency”.
The allegation was that the appellant was expected to administer anesthesia personally to the patient. However, the appellant instructed Nurse to administer analgesic after which the patient lost consciousness and died.
In consumer proceedings, the appellant was exonerated on merits.
In that context, SC held that legally an anesthetist whose duty hours were concluded cannot be held criminally liable for subsequent error committed by a nurse. Even if the case is taken at its face value that the appellant suggested a painkiller over the phone, such an act constitutes standard medical advice for post-operative pain, not gross criminal recklessness. The failure of the nurse might represent a deficiency in service but fundamentally lacks the gross culpability under Section 304A IPC.
