HC sets aside FIR against doctor in cheating case

Panaji: The high court of Bombay at Goa on Monday quashed an FIR filed by police against regional medical head, Fortis Hospitals Limited, Bengaluru, Dr Selwyn Colaco, for allegedly cheating a Goan heart patient after conducting surgery.
On December 21, 2011, the patient filed a complaint before the Panaji police station against marketing manager Abhinandan Dastenavar and doctors Vivek Jawali and Colaco.
The latter subsequently approached the high court.
"The material on record, as examined by us, does not at make out any offence against the petitioner and therefore, no purpose would be served by directing the petitioner to undergo the entire process of a full-fledged trial. The petition is allowed and the process issued by the learned chief judicial magistrate in the criminal case against the petitioner is quashed and set aside," a division bench of justices F M Reis and Nutan Sardessai observed.
During the hearing of the case, advocate Arun Bras de Sa said Colaco had not played any role in the examination of the patient nor had he played any role in the administration and, therefore, none of the offences lodged against him were made out.
The complainant had reported to Fortis Hospitals, Bengaluru, on October 8, 2010, where she had paid 4 lakh at the reception desk as a security deposit. She had also presented a letter from the director of health services of the Goa government, addressed to Fortis Hospitals, undertaking to pay a sum of 1.5 lakh towards treatment.
She underwent an operation on October 10, 2010 and was discharged on October 23, 2010, when she was presented with a bill for an amount of 4.36 lakh against the revised estimate, dated October 9, 2010, of 1.48 lakh.
Her claim for reimbursement of the expenditure had been rejected by the Goa government on the ground that she had stayed in a deluxe twin-sharing room. She claimed she had remained in the multi-bed room from the date of her admission till her discharge.
She alleged that in the letter dated January 24, 2011, written by the hospital to the joint director of accounts (health), the hospital had stated that she had, on admission to the hospital requested for a deluxe twin-sharing room of her choice.
She complained that Colaco, with the other accused, had hatched a conspiracy to cheat her and induced her to pay 4.36 lakh.