With the widespread use of smartphones, instances of patients or attendants recording consultations sometimes without the doctor’s knowledge have increasingly been reported in Indian hospitals and highlighted in recent media discussions. While recordings are often projected as tools for transparency, courts have raised concerns about selective editing, misuse on social media, and violation of a doctor’s right to privacy and professional dignity. From a medico-legal standpoint, unauthorized recording occupies a grey zone.
Indian law does not expressly permit covert recording in clinical settings, and such acts may violate privacy principles under Article 21 of the Constitution and provisions of the Information Technology Act. At the same time, courts have occasionally accepted audio or video recordings as corroborative evidence especially when medical records are inadequate making…
