LANDMARK CASE

Jacob Mathew v. State of Punjab

(2005) 6 SCC 1 · Supreme Court of India · Criminal and medical law

At a glance

Citation: (2005) 6 SCC 1
Court: Supreme Court of India
Area of law: Criminal and medical law
In one line: Only for gross negligence. The Bolam test applies, and safeguards are needed before prosecuting doctors.

1 Facts

A patient died in hospital allegedly because no oxygen cylinder was available, and doctors were prosecuted.

2 Issue

When is a doctor criminally liable for negligence?

3 What the court decided

Only for gross negligence. The Bolam test applies, and safeguards are needed before prosecuting doctors.

4 Why it matters

The main authority on criminal medical negligence.

5 Think about it

How is civil negligence different from criminal negligence?

6 Analyse it yourself

Read the full judgment from an official source or a law database, then brief it in seven steps: facts, issues, arguments, decision, ratio, obiter and significance. Always check the citation before you rely on it.

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A short teaching summary for students. Educational content only, not legal advice.