Nationwide protests by doctors to condemn violence against their peers in West Bengal entered its fourth day Friday. The agitation, which spread to Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and other cities, has made one thing clear — laws currently in place to protect physicians from attack by patients or their families are simply not working.

At least 19 states — including West Bengal, the epicentre of the protests — have passed what is called the Protection Of Medicare Service Persons And Medicare Service Institutions (Prevention Of Violence And Damage To Property) Act, also known as the Medical Protection Act (MPA).

The Act, covering doctors affiliated to institutions as well as independent practitioners, outlaws attacks against physicians and damage to their property. Offenders can get a jail term of up to three years and a fine of Rs 50,000.

As stringent as it sounds, the Act, however, fails to really protect doctors because it features neither in the Indian Penal Code (IPC) nor in the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). This makes it difficult for victims to approach the police for help or the latter to file a complaint against suspects.

“Without any provision in the IPC, filing a case can sometimes mean taking a copy of the Act to the police because she or he may not even know about it,” said Dr Neeraj Nagpal, convener and managing trustee of the Medicos Legal Action Group in Chandigarh.

“Police may not even be sure under which section to file such a case,” he added.

Source: https://theprint.in/india/there-is-a-law-to-protect-doctors-from-assault-but-this-is-why-it-doesnt-work/250217/