Orissa High Court Protects Doctors from Prosecution Over Medicine Brand Choices

The Orissa High Court, in a historic judgement, held that doctors cannot be prosecuted simply for prescribing medicines sourced from certain pharma companies. The ruling comes as a relief to many in the medical profession who feared prosecution for selecting certain brands, especially when dealing with life-threatening diseases such as cancer.

Doctor Cleared of Bias Allegations

The judgment was delivered in the course of a case against Dr. Rabindra Kumar Jena, former in-charge of haematology at SCB Medical College & Hospital, Cuttack. In this matter, he was accused of showing a bias against some pharma companies by prescribing pricey chemotherapy medicines to poor patients, allegedly violating the Odisha State Treatment Fund (OSTF) guidelines. 

Dr. Jena denied the allegations, thereby leading to the High Court decision in April 2025, whereby the High Court quashed the criminal proceedings against him.

Prescribing More Expensive Medicines Not a Crime

According to Justice Aditya Kumar Mohapatra, who delivered the verdict, "For that reason, if the pharma company is benefited, the same cannot be treated as an undue favour or loss to the govt exchequer." The judge noted that encouraging such criminal proceedings would discourage doctors from providing fair and fearless treatment.

No Evidence of Breach of OSTF Guidelines.

Importantly, the court did not find any violations of the OSTF guidelines. The court noted that these guidelines do not prevent administering expensive treatments, especially when so crucial for the recovery of the patient. Furthermore, a screening committee had reviewed the prescriptions and found no fault with them.

Legal Proceedings Lacked Basis, Said Court

In a strongly worded judgment delivered on April 16, Justice Mohapatra condemned the state vigilance for filing the case without seeking expert advice. He termed the proceedings as arbitrary and illegal and said that no satisfactory evidence had been produced to substantiate the allegations.

The court held that the continuation of the case would amount to an abuse of legal process and ultimately chose to acquit Dr. Jena of all charges.

Empowering Doctors to Treat Freely

This ruling upholds the medical community's privilege of making clinical judgment without the specter of criminal prosecution, provided that treatments are safe, warranted, and sanctioned by law. The court ruling establishes a precedent that safeguards moral medical decisions against being misconstrued as professional misconduct.

(Input from various sources)

(Rehash/Muhammad Faisal Arshad/MSM)