Kerala HC Refuses To Quash Criminal Case Against Doctor, Hospital Staff Accused Of Sharing Videos Of Woman Undergoing Surgery To Deliver Triplets

The petitioners include an anesthesiologist and a hospital staff member, both employed at the Government Taluk Hospital. The incident in question dates back to 2014 when the complainant underwent a cesarean section and delivered triplets. The allegations are that the anesthesiologist recorded videos, while the hospital staff member took images of the procedure, which were then shared via WhatsApp.

The case involved charges under Section 354(C) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC, and Sections 66(E) and 67 of the Information Technology Act.

A Bench of Justice A. Badharudeen observed that a prima facie case existed against the petitioners due to the serious nature of the allegations. The Court said, “That apart, the WhatsApp videographs and photographs of the cesarean procedure sent by the accused were collected during investigation to justify the involvement of the petitioners in this crime, prima facie. Thus the matter shall go for trial, and, therefore, the quashment sought for cannot be considered. In such a case, involving very serious offences, quashment of the proceedings could not be resorted to. Hence this petition fails and is accordingly dismissed.”

Advocate I.V. Pramod appeared for the petitioners and Advocate M. Baiju Noel appeared for the respondents.

The petitioners argued that the identity of the complainant could not be discerned from the videos or images and sought to have the proceedings dismissed. However, the Public Prosecutor opposed this, asserting that the sharing of such images and videos constituted an outrage of modesty and a breach of privacy.

The Court noted that the videos and images taken during the cesarean operation were collected by the police during their investigation to establish the involvement of the petitioners in the alleged crime. Consequently, the Court determined that the case warranted a trial and could not be dismissed at this stage. Therefore, the petition to quash the proceedings was denied.

Cause Title: Sunil P.P & Anr. v. State of Kerala & Anr., [2024/KER/58416]

Appearance:

Petitioners: Advocates I.V. Pramod, K.V. Sasidharan, and Saira Souraj P.

Respondents: Advocates M. Baiju Noel, T.S. Likhitha, Shinto Sabastian, and Public Prosecutor M.P. Prasanth.