Two months delay in lodging FIR
PLJ 2018 SC 548 · Lahore High Court
This Supreme Court case involved a doctor, Dr. Samina Matloob, who was charged after a new-born baby died during delivery, allegedly due to her negligence. An FIR was registered against her and two others under Section 322/34 of the Pakistan Penal Code (offences relating to causing death without intent to kill). She sought pre-arrest bail, which was refused by the lower court and the Lahore High Court, so she approached the Supreme Court.
Her lawyer argued there was no real evidence of negligence, that the complaint was filed two months after the incident, and that under Section 29 of the Punjab Healthcare Commission Act, 2010, such medical negligence matters should fall under the Commission's jurisdiction rather than being investigated or prosecuted under ordinary criminal law. The state's prosecutor did not contest these points.
The Supreme Court noted that the two-month delay in reporting the case, combined with the police's failure to exhume the baby's body to gather medical evidence, meant crucial evidence was lost. It also agreed that such matters, involving a registered healthcare facility, should be handled by the Healthcare Commission rather than ordinary criminal courts. Since the investigation itself had also cleared the petitioner, the Court confirmed her pre-arrest bail, converting her petition into an appeal and allowing it.
The case highlights how delays and poor investigation can undermine prosecutions, and clarifies that medical negligence cases involving registered healthcare providers may fall outside normal criminal law under special legislation.
یہ سپریم کورٹ کا مقدمہ ایک ڈاکٹر، ڈاکٹر ثمینہ مطلوب سے متعلق تھا، جن پر ڈیلیوری کے دوران ایک نوزائیدہ بچے کی موت کے بعد مبینہ غفلت کا الزام عائد کیا گیا تھا۔ ان کے اور دو دیگر افراد کے خلاف پاکستان پینل کوڈ کی دفعہ 322/34 (بغیر قتل کی نیت کے موت کا باعث بننے سے متعلق جرائم) کے تحت ایف آئی آر درج کی گئی تھی۔ انہوں نے حفاظتی ضمانت کی درخواست دی، جسے ماتحت عدالت اور لاہور ہائی کورٹ نے مسترد کر دیا، جس پر انہوں نے سپریم کورٹ سے رجوع کیا۔
ان کے وکیل نے دلیل دی کہ غفلت کا کوئی ٹھوس ثبوت موجود نہیں، شکایت واقعے کے دو ماہ بعد درج کرائی گئی، اور پنجاب ہیلتھ کیئر کمیشن ایکٹ 2010 کی دفعہ 29 کے تحت ایسے طبی غفلت کے معاملات عام فوجداری قانون کے تحت تفتیش یا مقدمہ چلانے کے بجائے کمیشن کے دائرہ اختیار میں آنے چاہئیں۔ ریاست کے پراسیکیوٹر نے