DDCDRC (Central), December 18, 2025 : The Delhi District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (Central) has held a treating doctor and a private nursing home guilty of medical negligence and deficiency in service, finding that their collective failure resulted in permanent infertility of a young woman due to delayed diagnosis of an ectopic pregnancy.
In a strongly worded order, the Commission concluded that the doctor breached the fundamental duty of care owed to a patient by failing to conduct basic diagnostic investigations, misrepresenting professional qualifications, and administering treatment in a casual manner despite the complainant’s high-risk obstetric history. The nursing home was held vicariously liable for failing to verify credentials and ensure adequate medical supervision.
The complaint, filed by Samreen, was decided by a Bench comprising Divya Jyoti Jaipuriar, President, and Rashmi Bansal, Member.
According to the Commission’s findings, Samreen tested positive for pregnancy in July 2020 and first visited the Family Health Care Centre on 24 July 2020. The clinic was owned by the nursing home, and treatment was provided by Dr. Kuljit Kaur Gill.
Between 24 July and early September 2020, the complainant visited the clinic on multiple occasions, consistently reporting abdominal pain and continuous vaginal bleeding. Despite these symptoms, no ultrasound, blood tests, or confirmatory diagnostic investigations were advised for nearly forty days. Instead, she was repeatedly prescribed medicines for acidity and vomiting and reassured that her condition was normal.
The Commission noted that the complainant had a known high-risk obstetric history, including a prior pregnancy loss. This, the Bench observed, required a higher degree of vigilance and careful monitoring. However, the treating doctor neither recorded a diagnosis nor documented any clinical reasoning in the treatment sheets during multiple visits.
The Commission described this conduct as internally inconsistent, observing that while the doctor acknowledged the complainant as a high-risk patient, she simultaneously treated her complaints in a casual and negligent manner.
On 7 September 2020, the complainant’s condition deteriorated sharply. She experienced severe pain, nearly lost consciousness, and was taken to another doctor, who immediately advised diagnostic tests. Laboratory investigations revealed a non-viable pregnancy, and the complainant was rushed to Kasturba Hospital.
Emergency surgery was performed to save her life. Due to extensive internal damage caused by a ruptured ectopic pregnancy, one of her fallopian tubes had to be removed. The Commission recorded that this delay in diagnosis directly resulted in permanent loss of her reproductive capacity.
The Bench held that timely ultrasound and appropriate investigation could have detected the ectopic pregnancy at an early stage and prevented the irreversible injury.
The complainant had earlier approached the Delhi Medical Council. While criminal negligence was not established, the Medical Council recorded serious professional misconduct.
The Disciplinary Committee found that Dr. Kuljit Kaur Gill was registered only with an MBBS qualification and was not entitled to use the “M.S.” or “M.D.” suffix. Her foreign qualification was not recognised under Indian law. The Council held that by projecting herself as a specialist gynaecologist, she misrepresented her credentials and violated medical ethics.
The Committee also found that she failed to follow standard protocols for managing a suspected high-risk pregnancy and issued a warning restraining her from claiming specialist status.
The Consumer Commission relied heavily on these findings, holding that false projection of qualifications, combined with negligent treatment and failure to investigate, constituted clear medical negligence.
The nursing home was held vicariously liable for the acts and omissions of the treating doctor. The Commission observed that hospitals and nursing homes have an independent duty to verify qualifications of doctors practicing on their premises and to ensure proper medical supervision.
By allowing an unqualified doctor to present herself as a specialist and by failing to monitor patient care, the nursing home contributed to the institutional failure that resulted in grave harm to the complainant.
The complaint against the Department of Health and Family Welfare was dismissed, as no deficiency in service was established against it.
Taking into account the irreversible infertility, physical trauma, prolonged pain, emotional suffering, and loss of future motherhood, the Commission partly allowed the complaint and awarded ₹20,00,000 as compensation, inclusive of medical expenses, mental agony, and litigation costs.
The nursing home was directed to pay the amount, with liberty to recover it from the treating doctor in accordance with law.
The Commission observed that while monetary compensation cannot restore motherhood, it remains the only legal means to provide some measure of justice and redress for irreversible harm suffered due to medical negligence.
Case Reference : Samreen v. Dr. Kuljit Kaur Gill & Anr. (DC/77/CC/148/2023), decided by the Delhi District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (Central), Coram: Divya Jyoti Jaipuriar (President) and Rashmi Bansal (Member).
