The Punjab and Haryana High Court has set aside a trial court order summoning a Gurugram doctor in a criminal medical negligence case linked to the death of a 22-year-old woman. The court held that the trial court proceeded without obtaining an expert medical opinion that it had earlier directed to be secured from PGI Chandigarh.
Background of the Case
The case arose from a complaint filed by Sourabh Chhabra, who alleged that his sister, Simran Chhabra, died on January 21, 2023, due to negligent treatment at Jagdamba Hospital in Gurugram.
According to the complaint, Simran had visited the hospital with symptoms of fever, cough and body pain. During treatment, she allegedly developed complications after receiving an injection. She was later shifted to another medical facility, where she was declared dead.
The complainant alleged that the treating doctor, Dr. Rohit Lalit, was responsible for medical negligence and sought criminal action against him.
A District Medical Negligence Board was subsequently constituted to examine the allegations. After reviewing the matter, the board concluded that Dr. Lalit could not be held negligent.
Despite the board’s findings, the trial court later summoned the doctor to face proceedings under Section 304-A of the Indian Penal Code, dealing with causing death by negligence.
Court Observation
Hearing Dr. Lalit's petition challenging the summoning order, Justice Surya Partap Singh closely examined the sequence of proceedings before the trial court.
The High Court noted that in September 2023, the trial court itself had directed that a second expert opinion be obtained from a board of doctors to be constituted by PGI Chandigarh.
“The proper course available to the learned trial Court was to recall the above-mentioned order by giving a justification and then proceed further,” the bench observed.
However, the record showed that the PGI report had not been received. Even so, the trial court went ahead, heard arguments and eventually issued the summoning order.
The High Court found this approach problematic.
“The above-mentioned procedure adopted by the learned trial Court is in violation of its own direction, and therefore, perverse and contrary to the settled norms of judicial discipline,” Justice Singh said.
The court also took note of the District Medical Negligence Board's report, which had given a clear opinion that the doctor could not be held negligent on the material before it.
Decision
Allowing the petition, the High Court held that the summoning order could not be sustained in its existing form.
The court quashed the order summoning Dr. Rohit Lalit and directed the trial court to first obtain the expert report from PGI Chandigarh, as required under its earlier order. The trial court has been asked to consider that report along with the other material on record before passing a fresh decision.
The bench clarified that the observations made in the High Court's order were limited to deciding the present petition and should not influence the trial court while passing a fresh order.
Case Details:
Case Title: Rohit Lalit v. Sourabh Chhabra
Case Number: CRM-M-56222-2024 (O&M)
Judge: Justice Surya Partap Singh
Decision Date: 05 June 2026
