Even Padman Cannot Save These Women From The Practice of Chhaupadi

Hats-off to the Padman team for bringing up the sensitive issue of menstruation in India. I always thought periods was a word more dangerous than “Lord Voldemort” and those who dare to speak about it, open pandora’s box. But now things are changing and not only are we speaking about menstruation but are embracing it too. Sadly this is not the case with everyone. The taboo of menstruation and the draconian practice of Chhaupadi are claiming lives of many females.

As per the old Hindu Custom of Chhaupadi, a menstruating female is considered impure and is therefore banished from her house during her periods. She is made to stay in a goth (temporary mud huts with limited resources), stables or caves during this period. A menstruating female is considered untouchable and it is believed that her impure touch would render everything worthless. She is forbidden to enter her household, touch men, animals or plants and consume certain food articles. Similarly no one can touch her during her periods. Thus even if a female becomes ill, she is not properly taken care off as everyone banishes her.

The practice is still widely followed in few parts of Nepal and has claimed many innocent lives. A nineteen year died of snake bite during her stay in the goth. Another girl died of the suffocation caused by the fire she had lit to keep herself warm during a chilling winter night. Other females have died due to hypothermia, malnutrition, animal attacks, severe bleeding, robbery and rapes.

Reasons for Practing Chahupadi – 1. Fear of God – The people believe that the god would punish those who don’t follow the Chhaupadi Pratha.

2. Banishment from the Society – There is an obvious fear that the society would banish those families who don’t follow the custom.

Impact on Females – The females suffer from physiological, mental and emotional stress. The conditions in the goth are deplorable. The mental, physical and reproductive well being of the females are compromised as they suffer due to poor hygiene, poor nutrition, heavy workload and lack of security. Their basic human rights are being denied to them.

Law Against Chhaupadi In the year 2005, the Supreme Court of Nepal declared the practice of Chhaupadi illegal. A legislation passed by the Parliament effective from August 2018 states that “A woman during her menstruation or post-natal state should not be kept in chhaupadi or treated with any kind of similar discrimination or untouchable and inhuman behaviour”. Anyone who forces a women to follow Chhaupadi may face a three-month jail sentence or a 3,000 Nepalese rupee fine or both. The law will be effective from August 2018.

Conclusion The social workers, government and youth of Nepal are spreading awareness about this evil practice of exile. The execution of the law would be extremely challenging. The main problem is that the females are conditioned and made to believe that they become impure during their periods. Changing this mindset is the government’s greatest challenge. The law is still ambiguous as it does not specify the discrimination meted out to the menstruating females and therefore its implementation is surely challenging. It is ironical that god made all of us but yet when we menstruate, we are forbidden by some to enter temples. It is hoped that like the law eventually ended the evil practices of sati and jauhar in India, the law will be successful in ending the practice of Chhaupadi in Nepal.

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The Temples of the Devils: Exorcism Exposed

“Exorcism of Emily Rose”, a horror classic is based on the true story of Anneliese Michel, a 17 year old girl in Germany who was exorcised by her parents and two priests.  She suffered from schizophrenia which could be treated by medicines. But her parents relied on exorcism rituals to cure her. She died after few days of exorcism due to malnutrition and starvation.

The court observed that because of lack of nutrition her body was unable to recover from the injuries which were result of both exorcism as well as self infliction and awarded all the four accused imprisonment of six months.

Recently a similar instance happened in Kodinar near Rajkot. Farida (36 yrs) died when she was not given food for 22 days and made to sleep on sand under sun by her husband and in-law who believed her to be ‘possessed’.

Epilepsy or Possession

Epilepsy (also known as fits or seizures) results from rapid uncontrolled electrical activities of the brain. This could result in contraction of muscles and loss of consciousness for several minutes. The patient may fall on to floor, shake tremendously, urinate or foam at mouth.

Some people consider these symptoms signs of possession. In places like Mehendi Pur Ke Balaji, Rajasthan many frauds are self proclaimed specialists in treating cases of possession. Due to lack of awareness many people are duped in to this trap.

The treatment is not only orthodox but cruel most of the times. Blowing cow-dung smoke, burning pig excreta, beating or pulling the victim’s hair and reciting prayers or mantras are common. The worst suffers are women patients who are sometimes molested, raped or sexually harassed in name of the ritual.

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Improper postmortem can lead to the death of justice

A dead body was found in a remote village of Madhya Pradesh. It had been discovered in a well after seven days of the death of the deceased. It was in a heinous condition and the people were even scared to look at it. The matter was reported to the police. The constable went running to the house of the government doctor who was posted in the village.

There was party organized at his house. Everyone a couple of doctors, their wives and children were enjoying some quality time with each other.

The news was indeed pleasure to none. The other doctors immediately decided to leave the party as if the doctor on duty was disowned by the whole community.

The doctor also realized the pain and trouble he had to undertake to carry on his duty. Therefore he choose a convenient way out. Instead of fulfilling his duty deligently, he decided to stay and delegate his work to the drunk peon in the hospital. Consequently, the report lacked necessary details which could have been sufficient to arrest and prosecute the guilty. This is a true story was narrated by Dr. Satpati (a leading medical expert in postmortem).

The story is not a myth but an ignored reality. In most of the cases the accused is given the benefit of doubt due to lack of evidence. The laxity of police officials, investigating team and medical experts are the prime reasons for injustice and judicial failures.

The concern raised in the story mostly deals with the disinterest doctors have in examining dead bodies and rape victims. It is important to note why doctors are disinterest in carrying on their duties? The answer is simple conducting postmortem is not exactly the part of their duties. India lacks medical experts in areas of postmortem and rape. Thus these duties are often delegated to a government doctor who is on duty in a village or district.

The traditional Indian notions that dead bodies are to be dealt only by untouchables, still exists in the mindsets of the people. Hence like everyone else, the doctors also try to ignore or delegate their duties to not so expert “drunk peons”. The results are disastrous, it not only provides an easy exit to the offender but also results in gross miscarriage of justice.

Another problem which must be addressed is the lack of knowledge in legal practitioners about forensic science. Most of the times the judge, the lawyer and the accused have no knowledge to check the veracity of a medical experts testimony. Moreover the language of law is alien to the medical experts and the medical language is a stranger to the lawyers. This communication gap often leads to miscarriage of justice. The medical experts are aware that it is difficult to challenge their opinion and even if they act ignorant, careless or venal they have almost no accountability.

Dr Satpati in his lecture told that it is easy to discover truth, if proper investigation is undertaken and minute details are noticed. A connection must be established between the wound and injury to the weapon discovered. The difference in pattern of wounds can be used to figure out the number of weapons and thereby helping in deducing the number of attackers. The pattern of wounds are also helpful in deciding veracity of cases specially when the wounds are self-inflicted. The date of infliction of injury can be figured out by noticing the color of the wound. The color of the wound changes in the VIBGYOR pattern similar to that of the rainbow. Thus a corresponding link can be established between the day of the crime and the time elapsed thereof.

It is unfortunate that most of the times the evidence is not destroyed by perpetrators but by the guardians of justice. This defect can be cured only by appointing some more medical experts who specialize in  areas of rape and postmortem. A collaboration must be developed between the legal (judges, students and lawyers) and medical experts. This must be initiated by imparting some basic knowledge on medical forensics to law students. Medical ethics is a term which is more related to field of medicine than medicines itself. The medical experts must not only treat it as their professional duty but also their moral duty. It is not the interest of the dead that they keep at stake. It is the faith of millions who believe in the medico-legal system that is risked.

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Decoding the D.N.A legislation in India

The forensic technology has played an integral role in solving criminal cases. D.N.A (Deoxyribonucleic Acid) tests, first discovered by Prof. Alec Jeffreys in 1985 in England has now become a credible source for identifying a person with the help of his blood, hair, sperm, muscle, nerve or tissue sample. Sometimes when the victims resist, they scratch their attackers, in such cases skin cells underneath the victim’s fingernails are extracted to identify the criminal. Compared to a blood test, the possibility of a D.N.A finger printing going wrong is one in 30,000 million.

D.N.A fingerprinting: – How is it done?

Specimens are collected from the crime scene. The DNA is isolated and cut to match against other samples. Subsequently, the strands are placed on a gel and an electric current passed through it The samples are then matched with the existing records of offender, arrested people and suspects.

DNA profiling narrows the list of suspects that authorities need to work through. The FBI commented that DNA profiling allows them to dismiss one-third of rape suspects because the DNA samples do not match. Authorities recognize the possibility of specimens being planted at crime scenes, and therefore continue to investigate the crime based on motive, weapon, testimony, and other clues in order to more accurately solve the case.

Law Regarding D.N.A testing in India as compared to other countries :-

India has no specific legislation or provision related to D.N.A testing. There is no provision under the Hindu Marriage Act, Indian Evidence Act, CrPc or CPC which a party could be compelled to submit one’s blood sample for examination. In such cases the court is bound to invoke Section 151, C.P.C for giving appropriate directions in the larger interest of Justice. Fortunately the courts have been instrumental in considering D.N.A tests as credible evidence from 1989.

However, countries like Australia, Canada and U.S.A have specific legislation related to DNA forensics.

The (Canada) D.N.A Identification Act, 1998 provides for the constitution of National D.N.A databanks. The act empowers judge to order persons for designated offences to provide D.N.A samples to derive D.N.A profile. The databanks help the investigative agencies in eliminating or identifying suspects or detecting serial offenders. U.K. Criminal Justice Act, 1995; provides that a blood sample for a D.N.A test may be taken forcibly by a court.

Loopholes in the present Legal System:-

1. It is on the discretion of the courts to consider D.N.A tests as a conclusive proof.

2. India has less number of D.N.A experts as compared to other developed countries. Moreover they are deprived of proper training, adequate laboratories, professional respect and perks.

3. The police is lacks the requisite knowledge of evidence collection from crime site. Most of the time the evidence is either ignored or destroyed.

4. The judges and lawyers lack forensic acumen and can be manipulated.

5. Even if evidence is send for D.N.A testing, the laboratories like F.S.L never produce the forensic reports on time.

6. Unlike Canada and Australia, we do not have a provision for National D.N.A Data bank.

7. Forcible blood test for D.N.A testing is not available in India.

8. It is often contended that the D.N.A testing violates the right to privacy of an individual.

9. Post-convict D.N.A tests are not recognized under the Indian law.

10. The power to issue directions for conducting D.N.A tests entirely rests on the court.

Recommendations

India definitely requires legislation in this regard. A D.N.A specialist must be given the status of an expert. They should be provided with adequate training and equipment. The number of laboratories must be increased. Moreover law students, lawyers, police and judges must obtain some official training and knowledge in D.N.A testing. The generation of forensic reports must be made time-bound. A D.N.A test must be not considered violation of individual’s right to privacy guaranteed under the constitution. There is a need for constitution of a National D.N.A data bank in the country. Before granting the right to D.N.A testing to post-convict, it must be ensured that the same is not misused by the prisoners.

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Performance Enhancers can be Reputation Damagers – Increasing Doping Scenario in Sports

Today 13 out of the 29 probable Kabbadi players for the World Cup Kabbadi Punjab 2010 were tested positive of doping. The incidence once again proved that sports and drugs have a close nexus with one another. The issue of performance enhancing drugs has remained contentious throughout the globe. The primary rational behind prohibiting use of drugs is in sports was to prevent any deterioration of health. However the emphasis had later shifted to fair competition and professional ethics. The prohibition is mainly supported on two grounds i.e. moral and physical.

The doping test is conducted by detecting the presences of banned substance in the urine samples of the competitors. But it is argued that the dope test faces difficulties due to various reasons:

1. Substances like Human Growth Hormone (H.G.H) or erythropoetin (E.P.O) are also naturally produced by the Human Body. Hence even if the presence of these hormones is established it is very difficult to detect that the same were administered unnaturally.

2. The athletes usually switch drugs or consume unbanned drugs or even take help of masking agents to deceive doping tests.

3. Domestic Legislation and laws of various countries have proved contrary to the decisions of pioneer sports authorities like IOC, International Amateur Athletic Federation (I.A.A.F) and Federation of International Football Association (FIFA).

4. The credibility of testing agencies has been questioned time and again.

5. The inefficiency of developing countries to have expensive testing regimes.

Categorization of Drugs

There are two types of drugs: the prescribed and the proscribed. The former being legal whereas the latter being illegal. Prescribed Drugs are not considered bad as they are taken https://www.fertileheart.com/buy-prednisone-online/ under medical supervision and are less detrimental to health. On the other hand the banned drugs contain high health risks. However it is argued that many prescribed drugs may lead to cardiac problems, convulsions or even death in certain cases. They may have fatal consequences in the long term. It is observed that addiction may result if these drugs not carefully administered.

Criticism

It is contended worldwide that over dose of any drug (including caffeine) may cause hazardous health consequences. Thus there must be a clear distinction between “medical treatment” and “medical abuse”. If it is possible to enhance the performance of an athlete by controlled administration of certain harmless or less harmful drugs it would definitely not amount to abuse but medication. Studies have demonstrated that medically controlled drug program would create a balance between health and sports. It would not only decrease the side-effects of steroids but would also enhance the performance of players. Moreover many people argue that Performance Enabling Drugs must be legalized as Anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS), which facilitates early healing in athletes.

Most of the athletes consume high dosages of highly refined dietary aids, vitamin and carbohydrate supplements which may cause substantial harm. The safe use of performance enabling drugs is essential. It must not be detrimental to the health of the competitor. As mentioned before the credibility of various testing laboratories still remain in question. Another concern in this regard is that status of legality of many drugs varies from one country to another. This definitely hinders the harmonization of rules related to drugs on a global level.

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I’m dating you doesn’t mean you can date rape me.

Sara went to a bar to party with few of her friends. When she went to rest room one of her friends. Jacob carefully poured a colorless, odorless and tasteless powder in her drink. Coming back she consumed the drugged drink without knowing its consequences. Next morning she found herself in the bed of the accused. Under the effect of the drug she knew about nothing that had happened the previous night.  The accused possessed some photographs of the previous night, which he used to threaten and blackmail the victim. The victim was victimized for months and due to the fear and guilt she remained silent and confided in nobody. Ultimately she committed suicide to get rid of this miserable condition. This story may become a reality in life of any woman. Date rape is something we feel would never happen to us but it is a dangerous mistake to believe so.

It is unfortunate that many victims of date rape or acquaintance rape commit suicide. Recently a 15 year old girl committed suicide when she was gang raped by her boy friend and his friends. Bijal Joshi rape case which formed the headlines in 2004 was no exception. The lower court has recently awarded the five accused (Sajal Jain, Sugam Jaiswal, Ashok Jaiswal, Chandan Jaiswal and Karan Jain with life imprisonment. Bijal Joshi (24 years) was allegedly raped by her boy friend Sajal Jain and his four friends on the New Year’s Eve in a room at Hotel Ashok Palace, Ahemdabad. When the police took no notice of her complaints, she committed suicide leaving a suicide letter which mentioned the names of all the accused.

It is estimated that around 70,000 college students in the United States are victims of drug rapes or sexual assault every year. Mostly drugs like Rohynol, Ketamine and GHB are administered to commit such crimes. They are also known as predator’s drugs or club drugs. Their effects are generally permanent and a woman may not be able to conceive ever if administered such drugs.

Rohynol:

1. Its effect starts within 10 minutes of ingestion which can continue up to eight hours.

2. It may cause difficulty in walking, nausea, confusion, dizziness, muscle relaxation, slurred speech and impaired judgement.

3. However it is banned in U.S., it is legal in almost 60 countries including U.K. and Mexico as it is used as a medicine for insomnia.

Ketamine:

1. It is administered through injections in veterinary practice .

2. Causes hallucinations, numbness, aggressive behaviour, vomiting and dream-like effects.

3. It is available in both liquid and powder form.

GHB:

1. It is available in powder or liquid form and is easily slipped into a drink.

2. It causes unconsciousness, dizziness, drowsiness,sweating, nausea and respiratory problems.

3. Although the drug is odorless and colorless, it is quite salty.

How to protect yourself?

Don’t accept or share drinks. Never leave your drink unattended, even if you are going to the washroom. If you find something suspicious in your drink pour it out immediately. Have a non-drinking friend with you at a party. Don’t hesitate to take help, if you feel you have been drugged. Choose taking drinks from a closed container and not from a pitcher.

What must be done by a date-rape victim?

1. If you believe that you are a victim of date rape take medical help. A urine test within 72 hours of the administration of the drug would reveal the presence of drug in your system.

2. Inform the police. To avoid any sort of harassment by police, consult and take help of  a N.G.O .

3. Don’t hold yourself responsible for the tragedy. Counseling would definitely help you to get over your guilt.

4. Suicide is no option. It is not the victim but the perpetrator who deserves punishment.

Indian Penal Code

Although we don’t have any specific laws related to Date Rape or acquaintance rape, the section 375 of Indian Penal Code, clearly states that sexual intercourse without the consent of victim is considered to be rape. It further states that, if consent for sexual intercourse is obtained by intoxication; then also rape would be deemed to have occurred. The minimum punishment for rape as prescribed under Section 376 is seven years. Hence a victim may take the benefit of the above section.

Criticism

It is unfortunate that some people believe that rape was justified if a woman asks the male out. Some of the perpetrators claim that they had right to have sex with their victims. Both the arguments are highly flawed; a man does not own his date. It is not obligatory on a woman to have sex with her partner. A relationship does not necessarily mean sexual relationship.

To prevent date rape a woman must be vigilant and careful. “Betrayal occurs only where there is presence of trust.” Both young males and females must be taught about sexuality in educational institutions. The risk factors and legal consequences related to rape must be discussed with students. It is the moral responsibility of every individual to inform police, if he or she feels that a woman is administered a club drug.

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Is It Crime to Be Gay in a Country which Proclaims to be the Governor of All Human Rights

Dostana - Bollywood Movie Targeted on Homosexuality FunThe recent judgment of Naz Foundation v. Government of NCT and Ors had created havoc all over the nation. The Delhi High Court stated that “Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code is unconstitutional as it criminalises consensual sexual acts of adults in private, violative of Articles 19, 21, 14 and 15 of the Constitution. The provisions of Section 377 I.P.C will continue to govern non-consensual penile, non-vaginal sex and penile non-vaginal sex involving minors.” The ruling was prospective in nature and was not binding on cases already decided. The court further clarified that the term ‘adults’ would constitute persons above 18 years of age. However this decision is binding only in the territory of Delhi and has persuasive value elsewhere. Therefore a proper legislation is required in this regard.

Section 377 is based on the Judo-Christian principles of morality. The British believed that such acts were unnatural and unproductive. They were against the order of the nature and against the will of the god. Homosexuality was not an alien concept to the country. There have been evidences of the same in the Rig-Veda, Manusmriti, Tantric rituals and Kama Sutra. For past 150 years Angaar (which is a small village in Gujarat), marriages between two males take place on the auspicious occasion of Holi.

Different religions have different perspective in this regard. Most of the religions condemn homosexuality on grounds of procreation. But procreation should not be a basis of discrimination as infertility exists in heterosexual couples also. Buddhism does not lay more stress on procreation as such. The Buddhist literature is silent on Homosexuality but it is presumed that the lay monks are allowed to practice homosexuality. Traditionally in Christianity homosexuality was condemned on basis of being unnatural. But now a days many Christians believe that it is akin to other unnatural acts like alcoholism. In Hinduism ancient texts like Manusmriti and Bhagwat Gita condemn such acts. In Islam it is considered sinful and publishable.

Countries like U.K., USA (some states like Georgia, Texas etc), Canada, Australia, Fiji and Nepal have decriminalized homosexuality and have recognized the Right to Privacy argument. Countries like Afghanistan, Iran, Mauritania, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Yemen prescribe death penalty for the homosexual conduct. In nations like Cambodia, China, The Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam and Hong Kong there is no criminal prohibition on Homosexuality.

Section 377 penalizes private non-commercial sex between two consenting adults of the same sex in the same manner as it penalizes bestiality, forced sodomy and paedophiles. The conduct in this provision relates to man with man, man with woman, and man with animal. The present law is often misused police officials. In Jayalakshmi v. The State of Tamil Nadu, a eunuch had committed suicide due to the harassment and torture at the hands of the police officers. He was continuously subjected to forced anal and oral sex. Similar incidents happened in Bangaluru where a transsexual was raped by a group of hooligans. The section interferes in the private life of individuals. Medical evidence has proven that Homosexuality is not a disease and cannot be treated. It is not by choice but by birth. Morality and public opinion cannot be the basis of any law. The rights of the transgenders, transsexuals and homosexuals need to be protected. They have as much right to choose their sexual partners as the heterosexuals. Consensual Sodomy between adults must not be subject to any punishment. Even A.I.D.S can be prevented if sexual deviance is checked.

Due the pressure from the society most of the homosexuals are forced to live the lives of heterosexuals. This affects the lives of both the homosexual and his heterosexual partners. In Moina Khosla vs Amardeep Singh Khosla A decree of nullity of marriage is granted to the wife under section12(1)(a) of the Hindu Marriage Act as the husband was a homosexual who could not consummate the marriage in spite of the repeated efforts of the wife. The present law has also proved a hindrance in the path of social workers. When a group of A.I.D.S activists went to the Tihar jail to distribute condoms amongst the prisoners, they were not allowed to do so (as it was contrary to Section 377). The punishment prescribed under Section 377 for consensual sodomy is ten years or life imprisonment. It is more than the minimum punishment stated for rape i.e. seven years.

A new legislation is required. Even if section 377 is not struck down completely, it must be definitely amended. Section 377 is the only Section in I.P.C. which deals with Child Assault. There must be separate and specific laws for paedophiles and zoophiles in the country. If people are not made aware of the new law then the same would be manipulated easily. Most of our population lives in rural areas and thus implementation of the same must be done effectively and efficiently. It is contended that a proviso (exception) may be added to Section 377 stating that “a non-commercial homosexual act in private provided that the parties consent thereto and have attained the age of eighteen years would not be prosecuted under the act.”

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The Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Bill, 2010: Will It Change the fate of accident victims?

The 201st Law Commission report states that “Road accidents are increasing at an alarming rate of 3% annually. About 10.1% of all deaths in India are due to accidents and injuries. A vehicular accident is reported every 3 minutes and a death. A trauma-related death occurs in India every 1.9 minutes.”

In India, the witnesses of an accident become mere spectators due to the fear of subsequent legal procedures and their lack of awareness about pre-medical care. Often the doctors ignore such victims by denying the authorization of these medico-legal cases. There is a lapse of almost 35 to 45 minutes time between the accident and the arrival at the hospital. This is usually because public is very scared to offer any help to the victim. The people are frightened that the same would turn out to be a police case. Very few people take up the responsibility to help him. Some formalities have to be addressed when the victim arrives at the hospital. Ultimately the patient is provided with some treatment. But at times the delay may even result in his death. In such cases the responsibility lies not only on the hospital but on the entire system.

The Court has not remained silent on the issue either. In Parmand Katra v. Union of India the Supreme Court observed that “Every injured citizen brought for medical treatment should instantaneously be given medical aid to preserve life and thereafter the procedural criminal law should be allowed to operate in order to avoid negligent death.” “The patient whether he be an innocent person or be a criminal liable to punishment under the laws of the society, it is the obligation of those who are in charge of the health of the community to preserve life so that the innocent may be protected and the guilty may be punished. Social laws do not contemplate death by negligence to tantamount to legal punishment.”

Samantha Mukherjee a 20 year old student died. The hospital had discontinued his treatment when a fee of RS 15,000 could not be arranged. The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission on hearing the case, stated that medical aid cannot be refused on the grounds that victim is unable to pay the fee.  The victim’s family was subsequently compensated with Rs.10 lakhs.

Fortunately, the enactment of a new legislation is on the cards. Movies like Munna Bhai M.B.B.S and others have always drawn our attention towards the miserable condition of accident victims who are often left unattended by the doctors.  Favorably on 22 February things might change.

The Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Bill, 2010 if passed by the Parliament would bring smiles to the face of many people. Although it primarily provides a legislative outline for the registration and regulation of clinical establishments in the country. It would also make it mandatory for doctors, hospitals and other medical establishments to treat and stabilize victims of road accidents and other emergency conditions. The act would apply to all systems of medicines and not only particularly to allopathy. The act would also apply to small clinics and even single doctors. The act would however not apply to Armed Forces Medical Service. The Act would primarily be applicable in Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Sikkim and all the union territories. It is expected to be implemented by other states as well. Similar legislation have already been passed by Delhi, Maharashtra, Punjab, Nagaland, Andra Pradesh and Orrisa. It would also set minimum standards of facilities and services which surely improve the health services in the country.

It is definitely an optimistic step put forth by the legislature. It would highly benefit the accident victims. The victims would not only be given initial medical care but if the hospital is found  incompetent to provide the same the patient would be transferred to another hospital with adequate facilities. The doctors would no longer be allowed to leave such patients in agony. They would be obligated to provide them with due medical assistance.

The people must be made aware of the Act by advertisements and other means.  The notices should also be displayed in all clinics, dispensaries and hospitals. There is an urgent need for well-equipped and well-maintained ambulances in the country. Pre-medical training must be given at governmental and educational institutions.

In United States the person giving pre-medical assistance to accident victims is not subjected to any kind of damages. Similar position must be adopted in India as well. The common notion that prevails in the country that helping an accident victim would result in problems must be addressed. Law has only a minimum role to play when the moral responsibility of the citizens is involved. The constant fear of the public must be addressed both by the government and the police. For this more and more Community Policing schemes must be encouraged. The people who help accident victims must be given credit and recognition. Saving life is not only by saving people from drowning or murderers but also by providing the adequate medical help at the time of need.

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