Doctor fined for misleading couple on foetus health

In their complaint to the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum,Ludhiana,the couple said they already had a daughter and visited Dr Aggarwal in April 2001 for ensuring the birth of a male child. After Harjeet conceived,the complaint said,the couple visited the doctor several times and was assured every time that it was normal pregnancy for a male child.

In September 2002,Harjit felt pain in her womb,but Dr Aggarwal said there was nothing to worry. Not convinced,the couple went to an ultrasound diagnostic centre where Dr Poonam Pannu told them there was a congenital defect in the spinal cord of the foetus. The report had said it clearly that the defect could cause paralysis and mental handicap in the baby.

The couple took the ultrasound report to Dr Aggarwal,who dismissed it. The couple,however,got another ultrasound test conducted by one Dr Anupam Wats at his diagnostic lab. He,too,gave an adverse report.

In October 2002,Harjeet delivered a baby girl,and not a boy as promised. The infant had defect in her spinal cord,was paralysed and also mentally handicapped. The couple then moved the district consumer forum. In his reply,Dr Aggarwal denied the charges levelled against him.

The forum found deficiency in service and negligence on part of the doctor and directed him to pay Rs 75,000 to the couple. The forum said the doctor could recover the amount from the insurance company with which he was insured.

Dr Aggarwal,however,filed an appeal against the forum’s order in the Punjab Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission,Chandigarh. After considering the case,Presiding Member of the Commission Inderjit Kaushik and Member Piare Lal Garg observed that Dr Aggarwal had not taken any special training for pre-conceptional sex selection and could not claim to be an expert in this field. Stating that Dr Aggarwal would have told the couple about the correct status of the foetus had he been vigilant,the commission dismissed the appeal filed by him.