Violence Against doctors and Medical Establishments (Legal provisions)

Every few months a news clip shows relatives of a patient who has died slapping a resident doctor or smashing a hospital reception. Emotions run high in an emergency ward, but the law is clear that grief does not excuse violence. So what offences does a mob commit when it attacks a doctor or breaks hospital property, and does a doctor employed by a municipal hospital get more protection than one in a private clinic? This topic maps the provisions.

In two minutes

Violence against doctors and hospitals is punished mainly through ordinary offences in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023 (hurt, grievous hurt, assault, intimidation, mischief, rioting), with extra provisions where the doctor is a public servant, and through State laws such as Maharashtra's 2010 Act on medicare service persons and institutions.

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