Title: Guidelines for Medico Legal Certification with Review of Statutes
Authors: Dr Raviprakash Meshram, Dr Binaya Kumar Bastia
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.18535/jmscr/v4i12.101
Abstract
The term ‘MLC’ (Medico legal case) has been creating mayhem in the minds of millions of medical practitioners for years, and will continue to do for years to come. Even today, the term fails to find a place neither in the medical dictionary nor is defined specifically in IEA, IPC or CrPC. Obviously; there are no prescribed legal guidelines for preparing it without any impediment. Many practitioners lack the awareness to prepare a medico-legal report properly, because whatever knowledge they have is either borrowed from their senior colleague, or from the standard textbooks in forensic medicine. But, it is an inopportune that, none of the standard textbooks mention adequate guidelines to prepare a proper medico-legal certificate. We, therefore, through this article, will try to layout a general guideline, for prudently preparing a medico-legal report. Simultaneously, we will review the various Indian statutes concerning the intricacies thereof and explain the various trivia that may be questioned in a court of law out of erroneously writing such a report.
Keywords: Medico legal case, Medico legal certificate, Consent, Police requisition.
References
1. Code of Criminal Procedure 1973, Section 39.
2. Indian Penal Code 1860, Section 176.
3. Indian Penal Code 1860, Section 177.
4. Indian Evidence Act, 1872, Section 45.
5. Indian Evidence Act, 1872, Section 46.
6. Indian Evidence Act, 1872, Section 3.
7. The Tribune, Chandigarh, India, dated 16-02-2011.
8. Indian Contract Act, 1872, Sec 14- 19.
9. Indian Medical Council (Professional conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations, 2002.