The right to health is integral to the right to life under Article 21, necessitating timely and adequate medical care, which was grossly violated in the case of the deceased, leading to her avoidable death.

JUDGMENT :

S. Muralidhar, C.J.

1. Aggrieved by the avoidable ‘maternal death’ of his daughter-in- law Martha Sabar, who died after delivering a dead female child, the Petitioner has approached this Court with the present petition praying inter alia for the appointment of a Maternal Death Review Board comprised of independent members and for this Court to thereafter direct payment of compensation by the State. The Petitioner has also prayed for disbursal to the family of the deceased, her financial entitlements under the National Maternity Benefit Scheme (NMBS). General directions are also sought for the proper implementation of the various schemes of the central and state government including the Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) in the village Labanyagada, Gajapati District, where the Petitioner resides and in the whole of Odisha.

2. Enclosed with the petition is the enquiry report of Dr. P.L.N. Patro, the Additional District Medical Officer (ADMO), FW, Gajapati which concluded that there was no medical negligence at any stage in the treatment of deceased. It was opined therein that the cause of death may be “due to severe sepsis with pulmonary embolism”. Enclosed with the petition is also the report of an independent fact-finding enquiry undertaken by a human rights organization, which has come to the opposite conclusion after interviewing those involved and examining the available records.

3. On 17^th May, 2022 this Court passed the following order in this petition:

“1. The present petition is by the father-in-law of an unfortunate woman, who not only lost her baby due to an intra uterine death but herself died while receiving treatment on 25^th March, 2015.

2. The case of the Petitioner is that the death of the baby as well as the woman was due to medical negligence and was avoidable. The pleadings in the present petition present disputed questions of fact with the Opposite Parties claiming that there was no medical negligence.

3. The Opposite Parties appear to have conducted an enquiry into the maternal death of the woman in question. The enquiry report of the ADMO (FW), Gajapati dated 10^th April, 2015 is enclosed with the petition.

4. With a view to obtaining an objective assessment of the materials on record the Court requests the State Commission for Women, Odisha (SCWO) to assist it in the task. Accordingly, the following directions are issued:

(i) A complete set of papers will be made available by the Registry of this Court to the Secretary, SCWO, Toshali Plaza, Satyanagar, Bhubaneswar not later than 1^st June, 2022;

(ii) The SCWO will constitute an appropriate enquiry team to examine the papers and also visit and record statements of the Petitioner and his family members, the concerned treating doctors, the place of treatment, the medical case record and make an assessment as to the veracity of the claims of either party on the basis of the materials gathered. The SCWO can also take the assistance of a qualified medical professional for making its assessment.

(iii) The report of the SCWO pursuant to the above directions be made available to this Court not later than 1^st July 2022.

5. As far as the connected matters are concerned, wherever replies/counter affidavits have not yet been filed they be filed positively one week prior to the next date with copies to learned counsel for the Petitioner, who is permitted to file a rejoinder thereto before the next date.

6. List on 1^st August, 2022 along with the connected cases listed today. A copy of this order