The Kerala High Court has refused to grant relief to an anesthetist who was facing criminal prosecution in a case related to a postoperative death following a sterilization procedure. The Court observed that not conducting a pre-anesthetic check-up can amount to gross negligence, especially when supported by medical records and expert opinion. The case arose after a 23-year-old woman, who had recently delivered a baby, underwent a postpartum sterilization procedure in a private hospital.
Two days after the surgery, she died due to peripartum cardiomyopathy linked to primary pulmonary hypertension. An initial police inquiry was registered under provisions related to unexplained death, and later criminal charges were brought against the treating doctors, including the anesthetist. The central allegation against the anesthetist was that anesthesia was administered without performing a…
