The court’s decision followed a petition by the deceased woman’s husband, who asked for compensation and a thorough investigation into his wife’s death. He claimed that his wife had died after undergoing surgery at the Sushma Swaraj Maternity Home in Bhandup, which lacked proper facilities. The baby delivered during the surgery also passed away.
Bombay: The Bombay High Court has set up an 8-member committee to examine thirty maternity homes run by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
This comes after the tragic death of a pregnant woman who allegedly underwent surgery under a mobile flashlight at one of these maternity homes due to poor infrastructure.
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The court’s decision followed a petition by the deceased woman’s husband, who asked for compensation and a thorough investigation into his wife’s death. He claimed that his wife had died after undergoing surgery at the Sushma Swaraj Maternity Home in Bhandup, which lacked proper facilities. The baby delivered during the surgery also passed away.
A bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Neela Gokhale formed the committee after hearing suggestions from the petitioner.
The petitioner had raised concerns over the poor condition of municipal hospitals. “Of the eight members, six were appointed based on the petitioner’s recommendations, while the remaining two—one from JJ Hospital and another from Nair Hospital in Mumbai—were nominated as per the suggestions made by BMC.”
The petition was filed by Khusruddin Ansari, the husband of the deceased woman, Shaheedunissa. Ansari sought compensation for the loss of his wife and child and demanded a detailed investigation into their deaths. He also mentioned that despite several requests, he had not received his wife’s medical records.
“Ansari claimed that the maternity home lacked adequate facilities and that doctors performed surgical procedures under the mobile torchlight due to a power outage.”
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Shaheedunissa had been brought to the Sushma Swaraj Maternity Home on April 29, around 8:20 AM, when she went into labor. However, she was not taken into the operation theatre until 10:30 PM. During this time, there were several power failures at the hospital, and there were no backup power systems like generators or inverters available.
The baby was delivered but did not cry and was declared dead shortly after. Shaheedunissa was then transferred to Sion Hospital, where she was declared dead at 1:30 AM.
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Afterward, Ansari requested the medical records from both the Sushma Swaraj Maternity Home and Sion Hospital on May 22. However, his requests were ignored. The petition emphasized that medical ethics regulations require hospitals to provide medical records within 72 hours of a request.
“The petition highlighted that, according to medical ethics regulations, medical records must be provided within 72 hours of a request.”
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