The Allahabad High Court Bar Association (HCBA) has demanded strict action against doctors and staff of SRN Hospital, Prayagraj, alleging misconduct after a young woman lawyer injured in a road accident was brought there. The Association claimed hospital personnel manhandled her attendants.
The Allahabad High Court Bar Association (HCBA) called for strict action against the doctors and staff of Swaroop Rani Nehru (SRN) Hospital in Prayagraj. This demand followed allegations that they manhandled attendants of a young woman lawyer after a road accident.
The issue was raised after the death of Jagriti Shukla, a lawyer practicing at the Allahabad High Court, who died from her injuries at Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGI), Lucknow, on Monday morning.
After news of her passing, the HCBA held a meeting and resolved to abstain from judicial work after lunch as a mark of protest and mourning.
According to the association, Shukla was taken to SRN Hospital immediately after the accident on May 20. The lawyers alleged that her attendants were badly manhandled by doctors and staff there, and that there was negligence in her treatment.
The injured lawyer was later shifted to a private hospital on May 21, and from there she was referred to SGPGI in Lucknow. The HCBA said she fought for about 18 days before succumbing to her injuries.
In the aftermath of the alleged incident, tensions reportedly grew between lawyers and doctors. Lawyers then staged protests and a dharna at SRN Hospital, pressing for action against those accused of negligence and of misbehaving with the family members of the injured lawyer.
The agitation was later called off after assurances were provided that action had been taken against doctors and staff found responsible for dereliction of duty.
The HCBA stated that Shukla’s death was linked to alleged medical negligence, and it sent a copy of its resolution to the Chief Justice and the senior vacation judge of the Allahabad High Court.
Meanwhile, another lawyers’ organization of the High Court expressed condolences and also demanded strict action against those held responsible.
Additionally, a group of lawyers held a dharna near Ambedkar crossing close to the High Court, demanding that the names of doctors reportedly suspended after the incident be made public. The protesters said they would continue their agitation until appropriate legal action is taken against those found guilty.
Lawyers from the Prayagraj district court also staged a demonstration, raising slogans against SRN Hospital doctors whom they accused of negligence that led to the death of the young lawyer.