Ernakulam: The Kerala High Court has refused to quash a case and subsequent proceedings against a doctor and a hospital staff accused of making a video and sharing the cesarean operation of a woman who gave birth to triplets at a Government Taluk Hospital, Payyannur in Kannur district, saying the case involves serious offences and the matter should go to trial.
What are the allegations?
It has been alleged by the prosecution that the first accused made a video of the cesarean operation of a woman who gave birth to triplets and forwarded the same to WhatsApp groups and the second accused also photographed 19 photos of the woman and forwarded the same. As part of the investigation, those items were recovered by the police from the mobile phones as well as from the tab of the first and second accused respectively.
Accused have been booked under IPC, IT Act
The accused have been booked for offences under section 354(C) (voyeurism) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), section 66(E) (punishment for violation of privacy) and section 67 (punishment for publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form) of the Information Technology Act.
The petitioners – first petitioner an Anesthesiologist and second petitioner a hospital staff – were employed at the Government Taluk Hospital, Payyannur in Kannur district where the woman gave birth to three children, Livelaw reported.
What did the High Court say?
Justice A Badharudeen noted that on perusal of the prosecution records along with statements of the witnesses as well as the records collected during investigation, it could be gathered, prima facie, that the first accused made video of the cesarean procedure in between 11.13 hours and 11.16 hours on July 18, 2014 and the second accused also took 19 photographs of the cesarean procedure and sent the same through WhatsApp.
“That apart, the WhatsApp videographs and photographs of the cesarean procedure sent by the accused were collected during investigation to justify the involvement of the petitioners in this crime, prima facie. Thus the matter shall go for trial, and, therefore, the quashment sought for cannot be considered. In such a case, involving very serious offences, quashment of the proceedings could not be resorted to,” the High Court said.
Prosecution fervently opposed quashment of proceedings against accused
The prosecution fervently opposed quashment of the proceedings against the accused. It said that when the complainant underwent the cesarean procedure, the accused had videographed and photographed the same and thereafter they had shared the videos and photographs through WhatsApp and thereby they outraged the modesty of the complainant and committed offences and therefore, quashment of the proceedings cannot be considered in this case, where prosecution materials are in plenty, prima facie, warranting trial of the case.
The counsel for the petitioners vehemently argued for quashing the case and proceedings against the accused, submitting that the prosecution records in no way justify commission of the offences by the accused as alleged and the identity of the victim was not revealed from the materials collected from the mobile phone and the Tab.
The High Court said that in such a case, involving very serious offences, quashment of the proceedings could not be resorted to.
“The quashment, as prayed for, stands disallowed, with liberty to the petitioners to raise their contentions before the trial court during trial,” the High Court said and dismissed the plea of the accused persons.
