MLC

When can a copy of the MLC report be issued to the accused?

QUESTION—Please answer the following question. I have asked three different legal experts and they have given three different answers:

An ACCUSED  wants attested copy of medicolegal report from the doctor. The doctor will issue the report:-

A. On Court Order only.

B. On order of the hospital higher authority only ( Medical Suptt./ HOD)

C. Under the RTI Act.

D. Can issue the report directly on application and deposit of fee.

E. Any of the above

F. Any other procedure under Law.

ANSWER—

1—As per rules, the medico-legal report is prepared by the doctor for the police at the specific or deemed request of the police. To quote Modi, “Medico-legal reports are the documents prepared by medical officers in obedience to a demand by an authorised police officer or a magistrate”. The original is to be given to the police and the copy is to be retained by the hospital. It is clear that the transaction is between the police and the hospital / doctor. All other parties are strangers to this transaction. The MLC report is an important document for investigation of crime and cannot be revealed to others without the permission of the authorities concerned, which are the state / police and the court.

2—As a matter of fact, if the applicant accused wants a copy of the MLC, it stands to common sense that the copy should be made from the original and not from a copy of the original. It is again logical that that the holder of the original should provide the copy. The practice of the hospital telling the accused to bring an NOC from the police before issuing a copy to the applicant is questionable. Since the original is supposed to be in the possession of the police, the police themselves should give a copy of the original to the applicant.

3—None of the responses A to E is really correct. The logically correct answer is that  

 “If an accused wants attested copy of the medicolegal report, he should apply for such a copy to the holder of the original. The original is supposed to be with the police. However, if the original is with the hospital / doctor, a copy can be supplied as per  court orders or on production of  a No Objection Certificate from the police”.

M C Gupta

4 September 2011

1—It is not correct that an MLC report is a personal document. It is an official document. There need not be a  privity of contract between the person examined by a doctor during the court of preparing an MLC report and treated for any injury found. The person may be a a total stranger whom the doctor may never have seen earlier. The doctor may not even like to have him as a patient due to a variety of reasons within law. The person may have been brought to the doctor by the police for preparing an MLC as a requirement under law. Thus it is clear that an MLC report is not a personal document. It is an official document prepared at prior or deemed prior request made by the police to the doctor. That is why the original is to be given to the police and the copy is kept by the hospital / doctor. If it were a personal document, the original would have been given to the person upon whom the MLC was done. The MLC report is an official document between two offices—the hospital and the police.

 

2—For the reasons stated above, a copy of the MLC report cannot be and should not be and is not handed over to the person upon whom  the medico-legal examination has been done.

 

3—The question of the hospital giving a copy of the RTI to anybody asking for it under the  RTI Act does not arise because of the following reasons:

 

a—It is simple logic that a copy can and should be given only by the person who has the right over the original. The right to possess the original lies with the police.

 

b—However, the exception to the above would be in a situation where the court orders the hospital to provide a copy to anybody.

 

c—The MLC report is a crucial document affecting that contains information pertaining to a person’s health and the information gained by a doctor during medical examination is personal information gained by a doctor as professional privilege and such professional privilege cannot be breached by making the information public.

 

d—Even if the hospital is covered under the RTI Act, the application for information regarding a patient made by a third party cannot be revealed without the permission of the person concerned, as laid down in the RTI Act itself..

 

M C Gupta