I.A. Ansari, J.

1. With the help of this application, made under Section 482 Cr.P.C., the petitioner, who is one of the accused, in Complaint Case No. 1998C/2004, has sought for quashing of the complaint, in question, as well as the order, dated 03-08-2004, whereby cognizance of offence, under Section 304A IPC, has been taken by the learned Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Kamrup, Guwahati, who has also directed issuance of process, amongst others, against the present petitioner, who is a Gynaecologist and Obstetrician and presently working as Chief Medical Superintendent of Marwari Maternity Hospital, Guwahati, which is being run by a charitable trust, namely, Marwari Databya Aushadhalaya, and which is one of the accused in the complaint, in question. I have heard Mr. B Hansaria, learned Senior counsel, appearing on behalf of the accused-petitioner, and Mr. AK Bhattacharyya, learned Senior counsel, appearing for the complainant-opposite party.

2. The case of the complainant may, in brief, be set out as under :

(i) The accused No. 1, namely, Sri Om Prakash Choudhury is the Secretary of the Marwari Maternity Hospital and accused Nos. 2, 3 and 4, namely, Dr. RP Hansaria (i.e., the petitioner herein), Dr. Dinesh Agarwal and Dr. KK Goswami (since deceased) respectively are doctors practising in the said hospital and also in other parts of the city of Guwahati.

(ii) The complainant admitted his wife, Smti. Namita Jain, on 31-03-2004, at about 9.30 am, as a delivery case. At the time of her admission, Namita Jain was examined by the present petitioner, who found that the patient's all the parameters, such as, blood test, x-ray, ECG, etc, were as per requirements and she was quite normal and fit. On 01-04-2004, at about 9.00 am, Dr. RP Hansaria (i.e., the petitioner herein) came, suddenly, to the complainant and told him that the patient was required to undergo some operation and surgery and that the complainant was required to give his consent thereto by putting his signatures on requisite papers. The complainant accordingly signed the necessary consent papers on 01-04-2004, whereupon Dr. RP Hansaria conducted necessary operation on 01-04-2004 itself and the complainant's wife delivered a male child on that very day at about 11.45 am and, thereafter, she was shifted from Operation Theater (OT) to the Observation Room.

(iii) Subsequent to the surgery, the patient was, however, lying unconscious. This apart, when the patient was brought out from the Operation Theater, the complainant noticed that there was continuous bleeding at the point of saline's needle and his wife's bed was full of blood. Seeing this abnormal condition, the complainant raised the matter before the attending doctor, namely, Dr. RP Hansaria, who failed to take the matter seriously and did not take remedial medical steps and, as a result thereof, her condition went on deteriorating from bad to worse. The patient was, therefore, again, shifted to Operation Theater. Thereafter, at about 7.30 pm, the patient was brought back to the Observation Room with general oxygen, whereupon the complainant asked the doctors, namely, accused Nos. 2 and 3 (i.e., Dr. RP Hansaria and Dr. Dinesh Agarwal respectively), about the condition of the patient. Both the said doctors replied by saying that due to excess dose of anesthesia, some problems had arisen, but there was no need to worry inasmuch as necessary treatment was in progress. On being so informed by the said two doctors, the complainant remained silent and waited for recovery of his patient; but he was quite upset with the condition of the patient, because the patient remained in unconscious state till 6.30 pm, though such a patient, under normal circumstances, ought to have regained sense within an hour of surgery from the influence of anesthesia. The complainant also observed that due to negligence, on the part of the accused Nos. 2, 3 and 4, his wife's condition had become serious and he (complainant) also found th