Four years after a doctor was sacked for allowing a convict to administer an injection to an ailing inmate at Tihar Jail,the Delhi High Court has asked the Lieutenant-Governor to review the service termination order passed in 2006. The step was taken after it was brought to the courts notice that the convict,Vipin,who was asked by the petitioner Dr Deepak Kumar to perform the medical function,was a qualified doctor who was serving his term in prison over a marital discord case. A division bench headed by Justice Pradeep Nandarajog,on Monday,made the request to the Lieutenant-Governor,setting aside previous orders passed by the Central Administrative Tribunal as well as other benches of the High Court,which paid little heed to the fact that Vipin was a qualified expert in medicine. Describing it as a very relevant fact,Justice Nandarajog stated that the L-G should take a relook at the order passed back then. It would be fairly horrifying to receive information that a convict was found administering injections. But,the moment it is informed that the convict is a doctor by profession,the raised eyebrows would normally be expected to fall, noted the Bench,also comprising Justice Siddharth Mridul. Dr Kumars termination order was passed in July 2006 by the office of the L-G on account of an incident,which occurred on February 13,2006. Dr Kumar was deputed to conduct a medical check-up of a convict named Kamran in Jail No 3 of Tihar as the latter was complaining of chest pain and bodyache. Vipin,who was posted as the sewadar that day,had accompanied him to the cell. Dr Kumar had asked Vipin to administer an injection to relieve Kamran of the pain. However,the next day,the patient complained to the authorities that the doctor had recklessly allowed a convict to administer the injection,and they had not even taken the basic precaution of using a cotton swab while doing it. When an explanation was sought from Dr Kumar,he stated that Vipin was allowed to do so because he was also a doctor by profession. He also added that the procedure was carried out under proper aseptic conditions. Nevertheless,his case was referred to the L-G, who deemed it fit to sack Dr Kumar,along with another doctor who was found smuggling tobacco and intoxicants into the prison.
